Ai Yori Aoshi: KAMEN RIDER RONIN
by Kamen Rider Chrome
Summary: A new spin on old favorite. As Aoi comes to find her new fiance, she discovers that he is more extraordinary than she could possibly imagine. Co-written with Ten-Faced Paladin
1. The Meeting

The young man was in his early twenties, probably a college student, wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Standing before him was a creature. Its body was covered in chains and metal balls. It had muscles that looked like they were either dead flesh or metal plated. Its face was covered in an obsidian black mask that had white teeth and beady yellow eyes. Chains came from the mask and were bolted into the skin of the head. Unafraid, the young man took out a strange dagger and it was revealed that he was wearing a strange belt with a circular buckle and a crescent moon on it.

With a cry of, "Henshin!" the young man slid the blade of the ceremonial dagger into a slot on the right side of the buckle, causing the crescent moon to glow and release a brilliant shine.

The image of the young man could be seen, but it was all black. Around the white orb, silver sections of armor appeared in the air. All the pieces looked like they belonged on the body of a samurai. Even more brilliant, the pieces appeared to be made of silver that was almost reflective, but as bright as the moon. As the light began to die down, the armor began attaching to the figure in the orb.

As the light cleared, the true form of the figure could be seen. He was covered by a black bodysuit which left no flesh to be seen. The torso was covered with silver armor that had wolf designs on the sides. His shoulders were covered with silver wolf heads while his forearms were covered with silver gauntlets which covered his hands. Around his waist was his belt which he had been wearing before. His legs were covered with silver boots that depicted crescent moons near the knees. His face was shielded by a helmet that had a samurai design to it. His eye pieces were perfectly rounded and a deep sapphire blue. His mouthplate was plain, but looked like it had wolf fangs etched on the sides.

The strange creature growled angrily as it eyed the new form of its opponent. It felt an ancient power coming from this human. A power that it did not like at all.

"I am the outcast who wields the blade of the moon and shall cut down all evil," the man spoke. "Ore wa Ronin! Kenzan!"

* * *

**AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN**

* * *

Kaoru Hanabishi wasn't one considered to be a complex person. He lived his life simply in a small apartment and went to college like most people did his age. He had the usual money troubles so he tended to watch what he spent.

This was why he used the public trains rather than a car of vehicle of his own. It was just cheaper in the long run. He walked along the clean tunnels as he headed for the familiar train that would take him to his home. He did it everyday so he never really expected something to happen out of the ordinary.

"Oh!"

Kaoru turned around to the entry gates and saw that a young woman had tripped. She had indigo hair which was cut very short. She was also in a purple kimono which looked rather expensive. She was also on the ground since she had obviously tripped. Ever the gentleman, Kaoru went to help the young woman. He leaned down and picked up her ticket before turning to the woman herself.

"Are you all right?" he asked in concern.

"Um…yes," the woman answered as she looked up. Kaoru had to admit that she was very attractive. "I'm sorry for troubling you."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Kaoru answered with a smiled. The young woman gently took his hand and he helped her to her feet. She took a moment to brush herself off as Kaoru noticed something about her. "Oh, your sandal strap popped out."

"Hm?" he young woman blinked as she looked down. "Oh, how troublesome. I don't know how to fix it."

"Well," Kaoru offered. "If you don't mind leaning on my shoulder for a moment, I think I can fix it."

"You can?" the young woman blinked in surprise. "Um...o-okay." The young woman placed her hands against Kaoru's shoulders and watched as he knelt down to fit the stray back in.

For a brief moment she recalled a similar event which had taken place in her childhood but was brought back to the present when she heard Kaoru say, "I'm done." She took her hands off his shoulders and he stood up. She bowed gratefully.

"I owe you my thanks, kind sir," the young woman said.

Kaoru, never having been thanked much in his life, blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, it's nothing." He then asked, "You know, it's not everyday you see someone in a kimono. Where are you headed?"

"Oh, I'm off looking for someone very important," the young woman said with her lips turned up in a tender smile. "Someone dear and special to me."

"So, do you have their number?" asked Kaoru.

"Oh, I do not," the woman replied sadly. "I just know where to find them, that's all."

"Do you have their address?" asked Kaoru. The young woman handed Kaoru a slip of paper. He didn't recognize the address but it was close to where he lived. "How about I help you find the place? How does that sound?"

"Oh, that would be great," the woman said with a smile. "Thank you, kind sir."

* * *

Kaoru and the young woman boarded the train that would take them to where he lived and then he would help her from there. It was a little strange to see a woman her age dressed so traditionally but she appeared so lovely in the kimono.

"So, who are you looking for?" asked Kaoru.

"Oh, someone special," the young woman answered.

"Is it a guy?" asked Kaoru cheekily.

"H-Hai," she answered with a blush.

They made light conversation as they rode the train. It made a few stops so it would take them awhile to get to their destination.

Along the way, Kaoru recalled his mother and how lovely she used to be in her kimono. He then felt a weight against his shoulder and turned her head to see the indigo-haired woman with her head resting against his shoulder. She'd fallen asleep. Kaoru sighed and then took time to gaze at her. 'She looks really cute when she's asleep.' He then scolded himself. 'Oh, come on! Like you have any chance with a girl like her!'

When they reached their destination, Kaoru roused the girl awake and she yawned. "Hm? Where are we?"

"We're here," he said to her. "Come on."

Using the address as reference, the duo made their way to the spot. Along the way, they made small talk.

"So, how special is this person?" asked Kaoru.

"He…is very precious to me," she told him.

Kaoru stared. She seemed to be dead set on meeting this guy. The guy sure was lucky to have a girl like this love him so much.

Once they arrived at the place written on the address, they froze. Unfortunately for the young woman, what they came across was nothing but an empty lot for sale.

"Impossible," she uttered as she saw the empty lot. She collapsed onto her knees. "Nothing's here." Slowly, she began to cry. "Nothing…and no one…"

Kaoru felt guilty for her as she sobbed.

"What…what am I supposed to do now?" she sobbed. "I wanted to see him for so long…and he's not here."

Kaoru did the only thing he thought was right. He helped her up to her feet but then she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his shirt. He was stunned by her reaction but calmed her down nonetheless. "Hey, don't cry," he consoled her.

"But…" she continued to cry.

"Come on," he told her as she backed away from him. She wiped her tears away with the sleeves of her kimono. "It's going to get dark soon. Let's go."

* * *

It was already late. The sky was dark and it didn't look safe for someone like her to be walking around. Of course, could he really ask her to stay with him? A young man and a woman alone would just cause gossip but it wouldn't feel right to just leave her alone, especially when she could barely find her way in the first place.

"Thank you," she said. "I'll be off now." She was about to leave when Kaoru called to her.

"Hey, wait!" he exclaimed. She stopped and turned to him, blinking. "It wouldn't be safe for you to be walking alone at this time. How about you crash in my place and then tomorrow morning you can find the place."

"Oh, are you sure? I wouldn't want to trouble you," she said to him.

"It's alright." Kaoru smiled. "Come on, follow me."

The two soon came across a small apartment building and Kaoru opened the door to his apartment, letting the young woman in first before entering himself. "It's not much, but it's cozy," he told her.

"So, this is how a college student lives," the woman said in fascination at the small space.

"Well, I don't have much and this is all I could afford with a bathroom and kitchen included," spoke Kaoru. "Come on, I'll make some coffee."

He made the coffee and they both sat at the table. She didn't touch her cup. She was still heartbroken about not being able to meet her special someone.

"So this guy must be very special if you came this far to find him," Kaoru commented as he made tea.

"Yes. He was my first love," Aoi sighed dreamily. "When I think about him, I feel so blessed to be in this world."

'_That guy sure is lucky,_' Kaoru thought to himself. '_Wish I had a girl like her._'

"I haven't seen him in a very long time, but I know he's a good person," the young woman smiled. She reached into her kimono and pulled out a photo. "We were very good friends when we were young."

She placed the photo on the table, allowing Kaoru to see it. Curious, he picked it up and took a look. His eyes widened in shock when he took a look at the children depicted in the photograph.

"No way," he gaped. "This…this is me and Aoi-chan when we were little!"

"Huh?" the young woman gaped. "What did you say? Are you…are you Kaoru-sama?"

"Um…my name is Kaoru Hanabishi," Kaoru answered. "And well…"

"KAORU-SAMA!" Aoi cried. She burst out into tears and leaped at the young man. She gripped him tightly as she buried her head in his chest while sobbing loudly. "Kaoru-sama! Kaoru-sama! Kaoru-sama!"

"Huh? What!?" he exclaimed. Now he was really confused. "OK, can you please tell me what's going on?"

Aoi removed herself from him and sat demurely across from him. "Kaoru-sama, 18 years ago we met and were engaged by my father and your grandfather to be married," she explained. "That is why I came to find you. When I heard that the agreement with the Hanabishis had been broken off I just couldn't believe it. So, I came looking for you. Now that I've found you, we can go back to the Hanabishis and-"

"Please, leave," Kaoru said suddenly and coldly. He'd heard enough.

"Kaoru-sama?" she questioned. His voice was so cold now, unlike the warmth and kindness he'd shown her earlier.

"I don't want anything to do with the Hanabishis anymore," Kaoru said, maintaining the coldness in his voice. "Please…just go."

Aoi gasped in shock but he refused to meet her eyes. As elegantly as possible, despite her broken heart, she stood up, bowed, and turned and left the apartment. Kaoru ignored the quiet sobs she was letting out. He didn't need the Hanabishis coming to bother him again. He'd left them for a reason and it would stay that way. Now, they were using a girl who said she was his fiancée to come and get him.

"Like I'll be so easily tricked," muttered Kaoru.

He then recalled the heartbroken look on her face and hissed.

"Damn it…" Kaoru cursed. He'd just chased off Aoi, his childhood friend and the girl claiming to be fiancée. "I don't need to feel guilty about this. It's just another one of the Hanabishi family's ploys to get me back, that's all."

Kaoru looked out the window to see Aoi and he sighed. He chose to ignore her. He barely knew her so he shouldn't really care. Still, something inside him told her that taking his anger out on her had been wrong.

**

* * *

**

Aoi sighed sadly as she waited outside. For what, she wasn't sure yet. She just needed to get her mind and heart into order again. She had wanted to see Kaoru again so badly, but he rejected her. It seemed that her guess was right after all, Kaoru left his clan because he didn't want to marry her.

"I suppose," she sniffled. "I should go back home."

Before Aoi could take any actions, she heard a scraping noise. Looking up, she saw something moving just beyond the light that the street lamp gave to her. Confused, she took a step forward to see what was there.

"Is anyone there?" she asked, trying to see what it was.

"Krrrrrrr," something growled back.

Stepping towards her, Aoi's eyes widened in fear as she saw what was moving. It was a humanoid monster that had pale skin and was partially covered with metal that looked like it was part of its body. Black chains with round weights hung from its body almost like hair. A black mask with white teeth and yellow eyes covered its face with even more chains that were bolted into its flesh.

"Ahhhh!" Aoi screamed as she backpedaled away.

"Krrrrr!" the creature growled again as it started walking towards her at a faster pace.

Aoi felt her body stiffening as the monster came into the light. She could see its gruesome features even more clearly. The monster seemed to be almost smirking as it began to reach out with its metal hands to grab her.

"AOI-CHAN!" a voice shouted out.

The monster stopped before it was suddenly tackled by Kaoru himself. Aoi felt her heart begin to beat rapidly as she saw Kaoru come to her rescue. Kaoru kept Aoi behind him as he shielded her from the monster which was getting back to its feet.

"A Spirit," muttered Kaoru.

"Huh?" Aoi blinked. '_Kaoru-sama knows what that creature is?_'

"Aoi-chan, run!" Kaoru shouted as the Spirit lumbered forward.

"But-" she began to argue.

"Run and get back inside!" he continued to shout. She reluctantly obeyed and ran, but she didn't go inside. She took cover and watched as Kaoru faced the monster.

Kaoru was relieved that Aoi was okay. He shouldn't have let his temper get the better of him. His anger at the Hanabishi clan got the better of him and he sent Aoi away into the night. He knew that monsters roamed the streets and he still sent her away! Resolving to feel guilty about it later, Kaoru reached into his pocket and withdrew an ornamental dagger from his pocket. He then raised his shirt to reveal an ornate belt with a silver buckle which held a crescent moon on it.

"Henshin!" Kaoru called as he inserted the dagger into the belt.

Kaoru's body was surrounded by an orb of white light as several smaller orbs appeared around him. Inside the small orbs were silver pieces of armor. The orbs then flew into the major orb before the light died down.

"I am the outcast who wields the blade of the moon and shall cut down all evil," Kaoru spoke. "Ore wa Ronin! Kenzan!"

Aoi's eyes widened in shock at what she just witnessed. Her Kaoru-sama had suddenly turned into a silver warrior. It was like something out of the old stories that her mother used to tell her when she was little. The noble samurai would come to the aid of the maiden in danger and protect her from the vile demons.

The Chain Spirit wasn't impressed. Instead, it roared loudly and drew one of the chains from its body. A large iron ball rested on the end as the monster prepared to fight Ronin.

Reaching down, Ronin grabbed the handle of his dagger and pulled and instead of the short blade of a dagger, it was now the full length of a katana. He gripped the sword and waited for the attack.

With a roar, the Chain Spirit threw the iron ball at Ronin. Aoi gasped as she was it coming at him but was relieved a little when she saw him roll to the side. The Chain Spirit was already pulling back its weapon as Ronin ran over and swung his blade down on the chain. The Chain Spirit fell backwards as Ronin approached him

Suddenly, the Chain Spirit unleashed several chains at Ronin and they tied around his waist, neck, and left wrist. Ronin struggled as the chains tightened and Aoi watched in horror as Ronin was thrown about by the Chain Spirit and smashed against the ground, making craters on impact. He was being thrown around and manhandled like a rag doll and there was nothing she could do but watch.

Ronin groaned in pain from the last smash but managed to recover quickly and slash down on the chains binding him, breaking them and freeing himself. The Chain Spirit lunged for him once more and he leapt backwards. He then charged forward once more, deflecting chains using his sword before getting up to the monster. He jumped up and smashed his feet into its masked face, sending it stumbling backwards before he unleashed a flurry of slashes, swinging his sword around as he cut into the Spirit's skin.

Aoi was entranced as she watched the young man she'd held a candle for so many years fight against a monster to protect her.

"Moon goddess, guide my hand," Ronin prayed gently. A white light emerged from his hand before a crystal was revealed with a kanji for moon in the centre. Gripping the crystal, he brought it to his sword. The handle opened to reveal a small chamber in the hilt. Placing the crystal inside, Ronin raised the blade again. The blade of the sword flashed with bright light before emerging as a giant blade with grooves etched in it. Like water, white energy filled the grooves. Ronin spun the blade in a counter-clockwise circle before holding the blade up. Ronin's eyes then flashed with white power.

"TSUKUYOMI!" Ronin bellowed as he charged forward, his armor beginning to shine like the moon.

Ronin sped forward like a flash of light. The Chain Spirit didn't get to move before Ronin flashed past it. Aoi wasn't sure, but she knew that something had moved in the instant that Ronin moved past the monster.

"RAAAAAAAHHHH!!" the beast bellowed as it suddenly began falling apart with a diagonal cut appearing across its body. The cut was glowing with white light, making it very obvious. The monster then exploded in a flash of white light, before the white energy compressed itself into a kanji for 'seal',

As the mark faded, Aoi could see Ronin standing a few feet behind the spot where the monster once stood. Seeing him stand proudly with the faint glow to his armor made Aoi's heart clench. Everything that happened between finding Kaoru, him getting angry at her, and then seeing all this; it was all too much. Finally, Aoi fainted with a soft gasp. He heard her and turned to see her passed out on the ground.

"Aoi-chan!" Ronin cried as he dashed to the young woman's side.

* * *

ZK: Chromedragozoid: Alright, another Kamen Rider fic set in an anime. Now, I questioned myself what it would be like for Kaoru to be a Rider so I wrote this. I hope you enjoy it.

Ten-Faced Paladin: Well, a brand new Kamen Rider for all of you to enjoy. I hope you all like this. Hopefully no one will be upset about making Aoi-chan cry.


	2. The Explanation

"Moon goddess, guide my hand," Ronin prayed gently. A white light emerged from his hand before a crystal was revealed with a kanji for moon in the centre. Gripping the crystal, he brought it to his sword. The handle opened to reveal a small chamber in the hilt. Placing the crystal inside, Ronin raised the blade again. The blade of the sword flashed with bright light before emerging as a giant blade with grooves etched in it. Like water, white energy filled the grooves. Ronin spun the blade in a counter-clockwise circle before holding the blade up. Ronin's eyes then flashed with white power.

"TSUKUYOMI!" Ronin bellowed as he charged forward, his armor beginning to shine like the moon.

Ronin sped forward like a flash of light. The Chain Spirit didn't get to move before Ronin flashed past it. Aoi wasn't sure, but she knew that something had moved in the instant that Ronin moved past the monster.

"RAAAAAAAHHHH!" the beast bellowed as it suddenly began falling apart with a diagonal cut appearing across its body. The cut was glowing with white light, making it very obvious. The monster then exploded in a flash of white light, before the white energy compressed itself into a kanji for 'seal',

As the mark faded, Aoi could see Ronin standing a few feet behind the spot where the monster once stood. Seeing him stand proudly with the faint glow to his armor made Aoi's heart clench. Everything that happened between finding Kaoru, him getting angry at her, and then seeing all this; it was all too much. Finally, Aoi fainted with a soft gasp. He heard her and turned to see her passed out on the ground.

"Aoi-chan!" Ronin cried as he dashed to the young woman's side.

* * *

**AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN**

* * *

"Aoi-chan! Aoi-chan!" Kaoru cried, watching as the pretty young woman slowly came to consciousness. "Aoi-chan! Are you okay?"

"Kaoru…sama?" Aoi breathed as she slowly began to get up. She saw that she was still out in the street where she had passed out. As she got to her feet, her eyes widened and she gasped in fear. "Kaoru-sama! Where is that monster? How did you change into that armor? What is going on?"

"Aoi-chan, calm down!" Kaoru spoke, silencing his hopeful fiancée. "It's okay. There's no monster and I didn't change into armor. Are you sure it wasn't a dream?"

"No!" Aoi cried. "I know it wasn't a dream! I know what I saw!"

"Aoi…" Kaoru grimaced. How was he going to get out of this? He was sure that he was in the clear when Aoi fainted. That way he could claim that all she had seen was a simple dream. She obviously wasn't buying it.

"Kaoru-sama!" Aoi cried out. She was getting more hysterical. "What was that monster? How were you able to defeat it?" Tears were beginning to leak into her eyes.

"Uh…that's…a long story," Kaoru sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Looking back at the ashes which used to be a Spirit, he then looked back at Aoi. "Could we talk about this back in the apartment?"

"Of course," Aoi nodded. "But I wish to know what is going on!"

"And I'll tell you!" Kaotu insisted. "I promise!"

Relocating back to Kaoru's room, Aoi sat at his table with a cup of green tea in front of her. She was visibly shaking, but trying very hard not to let what she saw get to her. She wanted to get answers and going into hysteria probably wouldn't help her get them.

"It…happened three months ago," Kaoru began.

* * *

_Kaoru was heading back home after his classes at school ended for the day. He had to stay behind to ask some questions of the teacher, but he didn't think he was running too late. Still, he had forgotten that the days were shorter this time of year. The sun was already setting and he wanted to get back quickly._

"_Man," he sighed. "It's getting cold way too fast."_

_Little did he know that the cold was soon to be the last thing on his mind._

_BOOM!_

"_Wagh!" Kaoru cried as the wall ahead of him seemed to explode._

_Dashing away from the explosion site, Kaoru looked to see just what the heck had happened. What he saw was a dirty metallic figure rising from an indent in the wall opposite of the one that had somehow blown up._

_The figure was donned in a black bodysuit which had silver armor on it with a wolf motif. He had dust covering his body, indicating that he indeed had been the one who that had been sent hurling through the wall in the first place._

"_Hhhssssssss!" a downright evil noise hissed from the hole in the wall._

_Daring to look, Kaoru fought down the urge to wet himself. He was looking at a monster! It looked like it had a humanoid form, but it also looked like it was a living cache of firearms! Its torso was a black color, but the bronze pullets that were poking out made it look dangerous. Its arms weren't actually arms, but a sick mesh between flesh and assault rifle. Its legs were robotic looking, but there was the odd bit of flesh poking out. Its feet were pure metal with only two toes a foot. Its face was the oddest. It was covered by a mask with holes for a mouth and a yellow slit for eyes. It looked like it had survived a gun fight since there were dents and black scorch marks all over it._

"_Ugh," the silver warrior groaned as he pulled himself out of the wall "It will take more than that to get rid of me!"_

"_Hraaaaahh!" the monster shrieked before it aimed its arms at the warrior._

_Kaoru covered his ears as the gun arms unleaded their salvo at the silver target. Amazingly, the silver warrior managed to dash to the side, avoiding the damage. Racing closer to the creature, the silver warrior reached to his belt and grabbed what looked like a dagger's hilt. Yanking it, there was a bright flash before the warrior held up a gorgeously polished katana that was as silver as his armor._

"_HIYAAHHH!" the man roared as he slashed at the monster._

_A wet slicing noise echoed in the air before the monster roared in pain. Kaoru's face went pale as the arm of the monster went flying through the air. Black fluid oozed like tar from the wound as the monster backpedaled into the street. The silver warrior came to a stop as he stared at the creature._

"_You die today, beast," the silver warrior spoke as he raised his sword again._

_The monster shuddered as it tried to keep away from the silver warrior. It seemed to be looking around for some kind of escape, anything to save its life. Kaoru thought his heart stopped when its visor landed on him._

"_Skreee!" the monster screeched as it took aim at him._

"_AHHHH!" Kaoru cried in terror._

"_NO!" the silver warrior roared._

_RATTA-TATTA-TATTA_

_Kaoru closed his eyes, expecting to be dead. He could hear the sound of bullets firing and the sensation of warm blood falling on his body. Strangely, he couldn't feel any pain of the bullets entering his body. Daring to look, he found that he was indeed covered in blood, but none of it was his. Looking up, his eyes widened as he saw the blood was running out of the holes in the silver warrior's armour._

"_Huh?" Kaoru gasped._

"_So…this is…my last fight," the silver warrior groaned. "In that case…Tsukuyomi…would you…fight by my side…one last time?"_

_A silver light sparkled in his free hand. It shone for a moment before a round white gemstone appeared in his hand. It looked to be made of crystal and had a kanji for 'Moon' in the very centre._

_Bringing the stone to the hilt of his sword, the silver warrior opened a chamber in the hilt. He then popped the stone inside before shutting it again. The blade of the sword began to glow brightly before it flashed. The blade had vanished, but in its place was a large blade which wouldn't be out of place in Final Fantasy 7. The blade had deep grooves carved in it, but those quickly filled with white light._

_Taking his enlarged blade, the silver warrior spun it counter-clockwise in a large circle. A light shone from the tip of the blade, making the circle appear in the air. The silver warrior then gripped his blade in both hands as his blue eyepieces began to glow white. Positioning himself to strike, his armor began to glow like his eyes._

"_TSUKUYOMI!"_

_The silver warrior became a blur of silver light as he dashed forward. His sword was raised high and ready to strike. The monster fired more rounds at the warrior, but the projectiles were being steered away from the incoming strike. Kaoru could only blink before the silver warrior had moved past and swiped downward with his blade._

"_RAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the monster shrieked. A straight line of white energy split it right down the middle. Before Kaoru's shocked and terrified eyes, the monster exploded in a haze of white light. For a moment, Kaoru couldn't see, but the white light quickly compacted itself into the kanji for 'Seal' before fading from sight._

"_Woah," Kaoru gaped before his eyes landed on the silver warrior, who was laying in a pool of blood on the ground. "Hey! Are you okay?"_

_He dashed over to the silver warrior and lifted him up, despite the blood coating his hands._

"_Hey! Wake up!" Kaoru shouted. "You gotta get up!"_

"_I won't be making another step," the silver warrior wheezed. "Those bullets shot my torso into pulp. I'm not going to live."_

"_No!" Kaoru cried. "You can't die! You saved my life! I have to repay you somehow!"_

_The silver warrior turned his gaze into Kaoru's eyes. His breathing was becoming even shallower. Gripping his katana, he raised it up. Kaoru gasped as he reached up to the handle of the blade._

"_Boy," he wheezed. "What you saw was called a Spirit. A beast born of an evil soul compiled with negative emotions. They live to kill everything in their path. It was my duty to destroy them wherever I find them."_

"_But…but what do you want me to do?" Kaoru asked, incredibly confused._

"_I want you…to take my place," the warrior gasped._

"_Huh?" Kaoru gaped. Was this guy serious? Kaoru was no way a fighter. He was just a college student with practically no family who was struggling to live. There was no way he could fight monsters!_

"_You are the…only one I can ask," the man breathed, his breath getting shallower._

"_I," Kaoru gulped before he took the sword. "I accept."_

"_Thank…you," the silver warrior gasped before he slumped back._

_Kaoru shivered at the sight of the newly dead body. Gently placing the man on the ground again, he gasped when the armor began to glow. Stepping back, he watched as the body became pure white energy. Kaoru watched, mesmerized, as the white energy rose into the air and flew off into the night, guided by the bright moon._

"_I will do this," Kaoru spoke. "I swear."_

* * *

"And that is how it began," Kaoru sighed. "Ever since then I've been fighting Spirits. I just never realized how many of them there are."

"Kaoru-sama," Aoi breathed softly. The story sounded both tragic and amazing. "So…your predecessor entrusted you with this duty?"

"It didn't look like he had much of a choice," Kaoru confessed. "It's my fault he died so it was the least I could do."

"Kaoru-sama…" She felt sympathetic for him. He blamed himself for the warrior's death.

"It wasn't easy when I first started out since I only had the dagger," Kaoru said and then he showed the blade to Aoi. "I didn't have anybody to guide me so I learnt with every fight since then." He chuckled but there was no humor in it. "By all means I should be dead by now." He felt her hands on his. "Aoi-chan?"

"Kaoru-sama, you've been suffering a lot, haven't you?" she asked him. "You've fought these Spirits and managed to survive. Despite the dangers, you never give up in order to protect people."

"The one who gave me this power gave his life to protect me," Kaoru said logically. "It's the honorable thing to do."

More and more, Aoi was falling even more deeply in love with the boy in front of her. So what if he wasn't a member of the Hanabishi clan anymore? It didn't matter to her. She would love him even if he was just a commoner.

"So, tell me about your first battle and victory," she requested. "I wish to learn more about you as you learn about me."

For some reason, Kaoru couldn't refuse. "Alright…"

"But, let me tend to your injuries," she offered.

"Injuries?" Kaoru blinked. Aoi pointed at his shoulder where the Chain Spirit had struck him during the course of the battle. A spot of blood was visible and it was slowly getting bigger. "Oh, gomen. Sometimes I don't even notice that I got hurt until a while after I finish a fight."

"It still looks serious, Kaoru-sama!" Aoi cried. "Get this shirt off so I can treat it!"

Kaoru gulped, but before he could protest, Aoi already had his shirt off and thrown to the side. She had dashed to the cupboards and was searching for some first aid. As she was doing so, Kaoru looked at the wound. It looked like it went in a fair distance, but not too deep to be deadly.

"Found it!" Aoi called as she turned with a smile. As she took in Kaoru's shirtless form, she paled and gasped. "Kaoru-sama!"

Kaoru knew what Aoi was so shocked about. Besides the wound on his shoulder, there were round and jagged scars on his torso. They were pale, but visible. These scars didn't bother Kaoru. He was proud to have them. They were his badges of honor as he overcame the evil Spirits and saved lives. His shame was the scars on his back.

"I've gotten into a few scrapes, Aoi-chan," he told her. "These scars are proof of the battles I've been in."

"Oh," she nodded and then knelt down to tend to his most recent injury. "This may sting a little."

"I have a large tolerance for pain," he told her. She started to clean the wound and he winced a little.

"Gomen," she apologized.

"It's ok," he told her. "Just keep going."

As she continued, she asked, "So…how many Spirits have you defeated?"

"In the last three months? I've lost count, really. But I will always remember my first battle."

"What was that like?" she asked as she applied some antiseptic.

"It was a week after I got the dagger and well I wasn't sure what to do with it…"

* * *

_Kaoru was feeling depressed for most of the week since his amazing experience. He was awake for a whole night wondering if what he had experienced was real. His memories said it was, and the sword he kept said the same, even if it changed into a small silver dagger for some reason. Still, none of that was driven home until the news the next morning said that there was some kind of incident in the area last night and police believed a murder was involved. When Kaoru saw the battle area on the television, he thought his heart had stopped._

_Eventually, looking for some kind of sign on what he should do, Kaoru journeyed to the local shrine, hoping some divine guidance could help him. It was really the only way he could ask for help. It wasn't like there were any experts out there who knew what was going on._

_Ascending the stone stairs, Kaoru stepped up to the shrine. It was about midday so no one was at the shrine at the moment. Not even the temple keepers, which was a little odd, but Kaoru disregarded it. His problem needed some attention. Tossing some change into the offering box, Kaoru rang the bell and placed his hands together._

"_Kami-sama," Kaoru spoke. "I wish for…guidance I suppose. I have been placed in a situation I see no clear way of getting out of. I wish I knew what to do."_

_Taking his hands apart, he suddenly remembered something and placed them back together, "Oh, and I hope the silver warrior can find peace in the next life for the valiant deeds he did in this one."_

_Satisfied with what he had come to do, Kaoru slipped his hands into his pockets and began to head away from the shrine. He had made his plea to the gods and hopefully, he would get an answer._

"_Help me!" a voice cried in terror._

_Stopping suddenly and turning to the source of the sound, Kaoru saw one of the two groundskeepers running from where the memorials were placed with his shirt torn and blood leaking from his shoulder._

"_Hey!" Kaoru cried as he ran up to the man. "What's going on? What happened?"_

"_A monster!" the man cried in hysteria. "A monster came out of the ground! It just came up and started attacking me! I'm lucky to be alive!"_

_A loud shriek came from the memorial stones, causing the man to scream and run away. Looking to the stones, Kaoru's jaw dropped when he saw the monster in question._

_It had a humanoid appearance, but that was all it had on common with humans. Its body looked like it was covered with a layer of dirt and was nothing but skin and bones. Its hands were missing and instead it had large rusted shovel heads for hands. Roots and dead leaves hung from its back while a chipped memorial stone was in the centre of its chest. Its feet were covered in dirty rock that scraped across the cobblestone. While he wasn't sure, Kaoru could swear he saw shovel heads running down its back like a stegosaurus would with plates. Its face was odd. It was covered with a blood red mask that had black tears running down from the black eyeholes. Its mouth looked like it was on a hinge and could open up at any moment._

"_Not another one!" Kaoru cried out. "RUN AWAY!"_

"_HROOOO!" the Shovel Spirit groaned before it rolled into a ball. Suddenly spinning, the Spirit rolled right past Kaoru and stopped in front of him before unrolling himself. Turning to face the terrified young man the Shovel Spirit reached up and made a slitting motion near its neck before pointing at Kaoru._

"_Oh man," Kaoru gulped. There was no mistaking its intentions. It wanted to kill him!_

_Backing away from the Shovel Spirit, Kaoru felt something in his pocket grow hot. Fumbling in his pocket in the hopes that the hot object would help him, Kaoru pulled out the silver dagger._

"_What is this?" he gasped._

_The blade of the dagger began to glow brightly and Kaoru felt something happening. An orb of light floated from the dagger and rested on the middle of his waist. To his surprise, the orb changed into an oddly decorated buckle with a slit in the right side. Kaoru blinked in confusion at what happened, but cried out in shock when a black belt wrapped around his waist, securing the object._

"_What…what?" Kaoru gaped, growing even more terrified._

_As if it had a mind of its own, the dagger jerked from Kaoru's hand and hovered in the air. A cold sweat broke out on his face as he eyed the point which was aimed right at him. He screamed loudly when the hovering weapon lunged at him. However, instead of digging into his flesh, the dagger slipped into the slot on the right side of the belt._

_Kaoru felt himself engulfed in a large orb of light. He could feel something covering his body before orbs of light surrounded the largest orb. To his surprise, the orbs turned out to be pieces of silver armor. Armor that he recalled the silver warrior to had worn. The armor flew towards his body and placed itself on him appropriately before the orb surrounding him finally vanished._

"_What…what happened to me?" Kaoru gasped as he grabbed his head, feeling the helmet covering it. "Why am I wearing this?"_

_The Shovel Spirit tilted its head to the side, curious and confused, before it let loose a roar and lunged at the newly armored Kaoru. The young man rolled out of the way, still perplexed as to why he had the armor when he recalled the silver warrior's last words._

"_He wanted me to take his place…" Kaoru remembered. He was alive to continue the man's work and he was going to do it…even if he wasn't sure what exactly he had to do._

_The Shovel Spirit slammed its shovel hands down on Kaoru and he leapt into the air. He'd jumped higher than any normal human so he guessed that the armor gave him more than just protection. He decided to see if it increased his strength._

_WHAM!_

_Kaoru drove a kick right into the Shovel Spirit's masked face and sent it skidding backwards with incredible force. He landed in a crouch, feeling a little winded but also excited._

_The Shovel Spirit got back to its feet and lunged at Kaoru, striking at him with its shark shovel hands. He dodged each of the strikes fluidly and without breaking a sweat. He grew cocky and hurled a punch at its chest but it blocked him with one of the shovels and then swung upwards, slashing him in the chest. Sparks flew as Kaoru flew threw the air and slammed against a tree. He groaned and placed a hand where the shovel had struck._

"_Shit…" he cursed. He'd gotten cocky and nearly paid for it with his life. "I need a weapon."_

_Remembering the dagger in his belt, he grabbed the handle as he stood up, "A dagger is better than nothing at all."_

_Pulling on the handle, he felt the blade come out as swiftly as it had gone in. What happened differently was that the blade had begun to shine as it was pulled out. When Kaoru had finally gotten it free, it wasn't a dagger anymore. It was full-length katana!_

"_Woah!" Kaoru gasped._

"_Hyooooo!" the Shovel Spirit moaned, catching Kaoru's attention again._

_Gripping the sword tightly, Kaoru charged at the Shovel Spirit with his weapon raised for a strike. As he got closer, the Shovel Spirit began attacking with its shovel hands again. Kaoru kept back a little, since he didn't want to get hit again. The problem was that he couldn't see much of an opening for an attack. If the Shovel Spirit kept going, he was going to back Kaoru into a corner._

"_Come on, come on!" Kaoru grimaced as he gripped his sword. "Come on!"_

_Almost as in answer to his prayers, the Shovel Spirit raised its arm for an overhead strike, leaving its torso open for an attack. Lunging forward, Kaoru stabbed his sword forward, letting the metal dig into the Shovel Spirit's flesh._

"_HYREEEEEE!" the wounded Spirit screeched._

_Kaoru was pretty sure he got it in the heart, but the way it was trill thrashing and screeching made him doubt that. Pushing forward, the Shovel Spirit stumbled backwards to avoid having the sword burrow deeper into its flesh. Kaoru kept the pressure on, hoping to run it through and end it._

_Both warriors finally stopped when Kaoru finally pushed the Shovel Spirit up against a tree. There was a squelching noise before Kaoru stumbled forward, his blade being buried up to the hilt in the Spirit's body. The Spirit in question shrieked and bellowed in pain. It hadn't even considering attacking Kaoru because of the pain._

_Kaoru was breathing heavily, but he knew he had a job to finish. Gripping the handle of his sword, he pulled it out of the Spirit, much to its painful chagrin. The black blood didn't even seem to stick to the blade as it dripped off. The Shovel Spirit attempted to stem the bleeding, but Kaoru was already planning his attack._

"_Just go AWAY!" Kaoru cried as he unleashed a horizontal slash which cut into the Spirit's midsection._

_As he finished the arc of his slash, the Shovel Spirit stopped moving. At first Kaoru thought he had missed, but a creaking noise alerted him otherwise. Looking up, his eyes bulged as the moderately sized tree which the spirit had been pressed against fell to the ground in a large crash. After another moment, the Shovel Spirit began to unleash a line of silver light from its midsection. As the top half of the Spirit began to finally fall off, it exploded in a haze of white light. The light then converged on itself to make the kanji for 'Seal' and then faded away. There was no trace of the Spirit left behind._

_Stumbling backwards, Kaoru dropped to his knees and dropped his sword. As it came to a rest on the ground, it flashed white and became a dagger again. The same happened to his armor, letting Kaoru return to normal. However, there was a line of red appearing on his shirt, indicating an injury._

"_Oh man," Kaoru groaned tiredly._

* * *

"And that was my first battle," Kaoru sighed before he winced from another tug at his tight bandages.

"Gomen," Aoi apologized, seeing the discomfort she was causing her love.

"Don't be," Kaoru smiled. "You're helping me heal."

Aoi smiled happily with a small flush on her face, "Still, that was very brave of you Kaoru-sama. Not everyone would face such a monster."

Kaoru gulped when he saw the way she was looking at him. She'd been love struck before but now it had gone up a level after he'd told her about one of his past exploits. A blush crept onto his cheeks as he gazed into her eyes. "Aoi-chan…"

"Kaoru-sama," Aoi sighed.

Both young adults gazed into each others' eyes with various emotions. For Aoi, it was her love already growing deeper at learning so much about the man she intended to marry. For Kaoru, it was shock at how much this woman seemed to care about him. The shock was mixed with some fear, never having a girl care about him like this before.

"Aoi-chan," Kaoru gulped. "I…I…"

Attempting to get up, Kaoru knew he needed to get some air or else he might end up actually kissing Aoi on the first night they met. While the thought itself wasn't anywhere near undesirable, he didn't want to take advantage of the love struck girl. Unfortunately, he forgot that she was still holding the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulder. Sadly, Aoi in her love-struck daze, forgot that she was holding onto said bandages.

"OOOOOWW!" Kaoru cried as the bandages stuck to his wound were suddenly tugged free. Quickly losing his balance to pain, he began to fall forward.

"Oh!" Aoi gasped before her fiancé's heavy weight came crashing down on her.

Kaoru groaned as he felt the tabbing pain in his shoulder return. It seemed like his luck was always on a roller coaster like this. His only consolation wad that he had landed on something soft.

'_What did I land on?_' Kaoru pondered as he placed his hands on either side of his head and pressed slightly.

MOOSH, MOOSH

Lifting himself up, Kaoru thought his heart stopped again. He found himself looking at Aoi's crimson face while his hands were planted firmly on her breast. Naturally, she began to have a reaction at the sudden invasion of her personal space.

"!" Aoi screamed.

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: Now we know how Kaoru became Ronin. Hopefully, Aoi can adapt to her new life with her above than average fiancé.

Ten-Faced Paladin: And Aoi is now in on the secret of Ronin. Hopefully he can keep it a better secret from others than he did from Aoi.


	3. The Guardian

Both young adults gazed into each others' eyes with various emotions. For Aoi, it was her love already growing deeper at learning so much about the man she intended to marry. For Kaoru, it was shock at how much this woman seemed to care about him. The shock was mixed with some fear, never having a girl care about him like this before.

"Aoi-chan," Kaoru gulped. "I…I…"

Attempting to get up, Kaoru knew he needed to get some air or else he might end up actually kissing Aoi on the first night they met. While the thought itself wasn't anywhere near undesirable, he didn't want to take advantage of the love struck girl. Unfortunately, he forgot that she was still holding the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulder. Sadly, Aoi in her love-struck daze forgot that she was holding onto said bandages.

"OOOOOWW!" Kaoru cried as the bandages stuck to his wound were suddenly tugged free. Quickly losing his balance to pain, he began to fall forward.

"Oh!" Aoi gasped before her fiancé's heavy weight came crashing down on her.

Kaoru groaned as he felt the stabbing pain in his shoulder return. It seemed like his luck was always on a roller coaster like this. His only consolation was that he had landed on something soft.

'_What did I land on?_' Kaoru pondered as he placed his hands on either side of his head and pressed slightly.

MOOSH, MOOSH

Lifting himself up, Kaoru thought his heart stopped again. He found himself looking at Aoi's crimson face while his hands were planted firmly on her breasts. Naturally, she began to have a reaction at the sudden invasion of her personal space.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Aoi screamed.

* * *

**AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN**

* * *

Things were a bit awkward between the two. After she managed to recover, Aoi finished up bandaging Kaoru. He then told her that since the day he received the powers of Ronin, he was able to heal fast. Still, the young woman fretted over him.

"I guess it's too late for you to go home now," said Kaoru as he looked towards the clock. "I have a spare futon. You can spend the night here."

"Oh, thank you, Kaoru-sama," said Aoi gratefully. "I guess I should go and take a bath before I sleep."

"Yes," he said, nodding. She then got up and went to the bathroom. In the meantime, he recalled the soft feeling of having his hand wrapped around Aoi's…he shook his head, quickly. They've only just met again for goodness sakes!

When Aoi was done taking her bath, she was dressed in a white robe. Kaoru had laid out a futon for her. After shutting off the light, she said to him, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he replied before pulling the blanket over himself.

Of course, his sleep hadn't lasted long. In the middle of the night he'd awoken from a strange and yet disturbing dream. Well, it wasn't strange. It was more like nostalgic and sorrowful. He'd been chasing after his mother and then she just vanished before his eyes. Then the dream became disturbing when he saw a large black figure with razor sharp teeth and evil eyes holding his mother in its claws.

Kaoru's eyes had snapped wide open with eyes shedding tears. However, now he realized something he hadn't before…

His face was buried in Aoi's cleavage.

The young woman had apparently woken up in the middle of the night and pulled herself over to where he was, covering him with the blanket and cuddling up to him before going back to sleep. But now she had pulled his head against his chest, holding him like he was a teddy bear.

'_Wh-Why is Aoi-chan... NNGA! I have to get away from her... before...AAHH!!'_ he thought as he tried to get away, only to have the girl pull him back against her. '_But... this feels good_.' He sighed as he tried to turn so that she wasn't smothering him.

He twisted his head to the side, his nose and mouth rubbing against her breasts.

"AH..." she unconsciously moaned, telling Kaoru that he was probably stimulating her.

'_UWAAA-AAAHHHH! She's too cute when she does that!'_ He gasped and tried to pull away again, the girl proving stronger than he expected. '_What a grip! Oh man!' _He thought, staring down at her long bathrobe she was still wearing, partly opened in the front._ 'She was wearing traditional clothing before so I didn't realize it... but her breasts... they're bigger than I thought,'_ he thought with some guilt as he tried to get away again.

He managed to get himself free, but that only lasted a second when his hand came onto his TV remote and turned it on. She immediately pulled him back into her embrace yet again. Now Kaoru was getting scared. It was like she was pulling him to kiss him but then ended up with her holding him to the crook of her neck. He sighed dejectedly and tried to relax…That proved fruitless as the girl unconsciously brought her legs into play.

'_OOOOHHH! Her legs! They're wrapping around mine now!'_ He gasped, trying again to struggle out of her embrace. '_Please stop clinging to me like this! AAGH! Now her cheek!' _Aoi was rubbing her cheek against his.

"Kaoru…sama…" she uttered in her sleep.

'_What is she dreaming about!?_'

* * *

It was soon morning and while Aoi was well rested, Kaoru was…exhausted.

"Oh, good morning, Kaoru-sama!" said Aoi with a smile.

"Good…morning…Aoi-chan…" Kaoru replied tiredly. She gasped

"My goodness, what happened?" Aoi asked. "You look like you haven't slept at all!"

"Aoi-chan, how did you end up in my futon?" he asked in return.

"Oh…" Aoi then realized she had and blushed. "You looked so cold last night, so I took the liberty of sleeping next to you."

"And of course you were clinging to me," added Kaoru.

"Sorry," she apologized, "But, I have a habit of clutching to things when I sleep."

'_Yeah, no kidding_…' Still, Kaoru couldn't stay upset with the girl any longer.

"I'm sorry, but you were also holding onto me like you were cold. Guess…that makes us even?"

"OK, we're even," he said with a smile.

"How are your wounds?" she asked.

"I think I'm all healed up," he said. "Thanks. I guess we can take off the bandages."

Aoi helped Kaoru remove the bandages, but was pleasantly surprised to find that all the wounds were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief, happy with the knowledge that her love wasn't wounded anymore.

"Okay," Kaoru stretched as he got the last of the bandages off. "I still have to get to my classes. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

"I'll be fine," Aoi smiled. "I…don't want to go home just yet."

"Okay," Kaoru nodded. "There's not much here to do though. You'll probably get bored before I come back."

"I'll think of something," Aoi insisted.

"Well, if you're sure," Kaoru shrugged. "I just need to get dressed then."

"I'll get breakfast ready," Aoi smiled.

* * *

Kaoru opened the curtains to let the sunlight in as Aoi said, "Please, eat up." He went over and sat at his table and his eyes widened at the spread.

"Wow!" The food before him looked so good. "This looks delicious."

"I'm sorry for using what was left in the refrigerator without permission," she said apologetically.

"It's okay. Though, I'm surprised you managed to make all this," he said, sounding impressed. "There wasn't much of anything in there. It's amazing!" He then said, "Itadakimasu."

"Kaoru-sama…"

"Aoi-chan."

"Huh?"

"I'm gonna be heading to class. I'll take you to the station later," Kaoru offered.

"No, it's alright," she said. "I called my house earlier and it turns out I can stay a while longer." She looked down sadly. "Am I…a bother to you?"

"No…not really…" he said. "But…" What could he say?

"Then, allow me to see you off at the station, Kaoru-sama!"

* * *

As the pair walked towards the station, they made some small talk. Aoi even saw a younger couple walking by and smiled as she thought of herself and Kaoru. She wanted him to hold her own hand.

Once at the station, as they were about to part ways…

"Kaoru-sama, when do you plan on returning?" Aoi asked.

"I don't think I'll be too late," he said to her. "Why?"

"I would love to prepare dinner for you tonight as well."

"For…me?" He blinked.

"Yes."

"I guess you could, but since I'm your host I should be the one doing stuff like that."

"But, I would love to…"

"OK, then," he said with a smile. "I'll see you later!"

Aoi waved as Kaoru went off. She smiled.

* * *

As Kaoru was attending classes, Aoi went to the shopping district to get ingredients for dinner. When she went to get fish, the shopkeeper mistook her for a married woman. She hadn't denied it, though, and wasn't sure why. It did place a warm and bubbly feeling inside her when she thought about it.

* * *

Kaoru yawned as he got off the train. Another day was done and he was tired from working hard. Well, that and his lack of sleep after Aoi's sleep-cuddling. He almost fell asleep in one of his classes. Still, he managed to tough it out. Now he was just looking forward to being back home and hopefully seeing that dinner that Aoi had promised him.

"Kaoru-sama!"

Kaoru blinked and looked to the voice that was calling him. Sure enough, there was Aoi waving at him. Flushing slightly at having such a cute girl waiting for him, Kaoru walked over to her, "Aoi-chan? I wasn't expecting to see you here. Were you waiting long?"

"Not long, Kaoru-sama," Aoi smiled. In truth, she had spent a lot of time cleaning Kaoru's home, doing his laundry, shopping, and finally cooking a meal. It was hard for most of the day, but she loved every moment of the day. It was almost as if they were truly married. It was a wonderful feeling. It was like being a wife of a samurai. From the way she saw Kaoru fight in his armor, she was willing to believe it. She just hoped she could experience this feeling for a while longer.

"Well let's go home then," Kaoru smiled. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more Spirits to cause trouble for the night. They had some of the worst timing he had ever seen. One had appeared during a test he was taking and he had to plow through it before he could get out and fight it. It was the worst mark he had ever received. Thankfully he was able to recover from it.

Along the way to his apartment, Aoi asked if they could hold hands. With a smile, Kaoru took her hand in his. They walked side by side and hand in hand. This feeling made her recall a childhood memory of the two holding hands as children. She was glad to be feeling it again.

**

* * *

**

"Wow!" Kaoru said as he stared at the food. His mouth watered. "You really made all this?"

"Yes, I did some shopping," said Aoi. "I hope it suits your taste. Please, do eat it all."

"Itadakimasu!" Kaoru then began to eat and exclaimed, "Wow! Delicious!"

"Is it?" She had been nervous. She was afraid he wouldn't like it.

"Yeah, it's better than anything I've eaten in a while," he told her.

"Really? What do you usually eat then?" she asked.

"Well, sometimes I live off instant ramen," he said, "But when I'm broke I just live off bread crusts."

"Bread…crusts…?"

"Yeah, but that's how a guy who lives alone always eats."

Aoi suddenly got in his face and exclaimed sternly, "That's not right! You shouldn't eat that way! It's not good for you! You need to eat more nutritiously or you'll die!"

"Um…" Kaoru couldn't believe how scary Aoi looked right now.

"Now, eat up," she said seriously. There was no room for argument. "Please. I even made your favorite, grilled fish."

Kaoru stared at the food and noticed something. It was all his favorite dishes. How could Aoi have possibly known?

"Is something wrong?" she asked. He'd been silent.

"Aoi-chan, how do you know what my favorite food is?"

"Oh, well, back then I always paid attention."

"Paid attention?"

"Yes, and I managed to notice little things like your favorite food, that your favorite color is blue, that you prefer short hair and even your favorite song…"

Kaoru never knew someone could know him so well. Still, it felt good for someone to treat him so kindly. After his mother had left him and then passed away, things for him hadn't been easy.

Before he could get another bite, a deep throbbing pounded in his head. Kaoru had learned very quickly that he could sense Spirits when they got excited or started attacking someone. It was like looking at a bright light up close. Dropping his chopsticks, Kaoru got up to his feet.

"Kaoru-sama?" Aoi asked worriedly, seeing her beloved in pain.

"A Spirit," Kaoru managed to get out as he drew his dagger. "I have to go!"

Aoi nodded as Kaoru left the apartment. She heard a cry of 'henshin' before a flash of silver appeared outside the window. Looking outside, she saw Ronin leap over the rail and land on the ground. He then took off running down the streets, heading to save someone. She could only pray to the kami that he would return safely.

* * *

Ronin knew he wasn't going to get where the Spirit was soon unless he got faster. Thankfully when he once fought a Wheel Spirit, he discovered a trick he had. Bringing out his dagger, he changed it into a sword. With that, he cut the symbol for 'wolf' in the air. When he finished, a circle of runes surrounded it before glowing bright white. There was a flash of light before a silver armored wolf leaped through the circle. Getting into a running pace, the wolf began to change. Its legs folded into its body while silver wheels came out of its body. Its torso shifted while a pair of handlebars rose up from its neck. The beast had become a motorcycle.

Satisfied, Ronin leaped onto the machine. Revving the motor, which sounded like a growl, he took off in a burst of speed.

* * *

A mauve haired woman was driving towards where her young charge was. She just couldn't believe a young lady raised to be all prim and proper would just run off like that in search in someone. It just wasn't like her. Well Miyabi was going to get Aoi-sama back, even if she had to force the woman and drag her kicking and screaming.

Of course, when a dark figure suddenly appeared in front of Miyabi's car, she quickly slammed down the brakes. Her car came to a screeching halt. Miyabi had been filled with worried and frustration over her charge's disappearance that she was feeling short-tempered. She wanted to give the man before her a piece of her mind. She shone her light brightly and shouted, "Hey, watch where you're going!" That was when she got a good look at the figure and it definitely wasn't human.

Its skin was a mottle gray and barbed wire ran down its arms like demented coils. A barbed wire vest was wrapped around its torso and legs, giving it a fearsome image. It had a mask on, which was a rusty red with barbed wire circling the eyes. The rest of the mask looked almost skeletal. For once in her life, Miyabi was too stunned to think of anything.

The beast let out a horrendous screech as the barbed wire uncurled from its arms. Lashing out with them as whips the metal weapons tore gouges in Miyabi's car. Crying out in shock, Miyabi tried to put her car in reverse, but the sudden explosion and shredding sound told her than the beast had ripped up her tires. Turning back to look at the beast, she cried in shock as its weapons crashed through her windshield and almost cut her up instead of her back seat.

The creature gurgled with delight, feeling a fresh kill so close. It recalled its weapons to attack again when it heard something. It sounded like the growl of a wolf mixed with the roar of an engine. Turning around, the monster got clotheslined with an outstretched silver arm that carried it a few feet before knocking it to the ground in a shower of sparks.

Bringing the Machine Okami to a stop, Ronin dismounted and turned to face the Barbwire Spirit. Drawing his sword, he eyed the car that it was attacking. It looked pretty torn up, but the person inside seemed to be okay. If anything else, just a little shaken.

"Just you and me now, Spirit," Ronin growled at the recovering monster. The Spirit snarled right back and lashed out with its barbwires. Ronin leapt out of the way and rolled along the ground before getting up on one knee. He then pushed himself back up to his feet and dashed towards the Spirit. He narrowly dodged a barbwire aimed for his head and deflected with his sword. When he got in close, he sliced down on the Spirit's chest before kicking it backwards. The Spirit retaliated and struck Ronin in the chest.

Miyabi, who was in her car, looked up and gasped as she witnessed a samurai battling the Spirit. It just seemed so surreal and yet she was seeing it happen before her eyes.

Ronin stabbed with his sword but the Spirit leapt backwards to avoid. It then lashed out with a barbwire that looped around Ronin's neck. The loop tightened and Ronin began to choke. The Spirit then tugged on its barbwire and pulled Ronin close. Ronin, however, snapped his fingers and waited for help. It came in the form of his bike which raced up behind the Spirit and changed back into its Wolf Mode before slashing at it. It then bit down on the barbwire, breaking it and freeing its master, before joining him at his side.

The two then double-teamed the spirit, striking at it with a sword blade and claws. The Lunar Wolf slashed at the Spirit mercilessly. It tried to lash at it with its barbwire whip but the weapon got caught between the wolf's jaws and held the Spirit in place as it tried to withdraw its weapon.

"Goddess, guide me," Ronin whispered as he held out his hand. White light shone in his hand before solidifying into a crystal sphere with the kanji for moon in it.

The Spirit saw this and shrieked loudly. In a flurry of movement, the Spirit dissolved into coils of barbwire that slithered like a snake before vanishing down a storm drain. Ronin blinked, not having seen such a thing happen before. Dismissing the orb, Ronin sheathed his sword before he turned back to the car. Looking inside, he saw that the woman inside was calming herself down.

'_Will of iron, this one,_' Ronin thought to himself. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," the woman nodded with another breath. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ronin nodded. "If you aren't injured, I'll be on the way."

Turning around, he headed back to the Lunar Wolf. The beast itself shifted back into the Machine Ookami, which he mounted. Revving the engine again, Ronin took off into the evening light. Miyabi herself finally got her heart to slow down. She saw something she never expected to see in her life, but she wasn't going to let it get her down. Pulling out her cell phone, she called for a tow truck. Once she got her car to a garage, she would head out to find her charge.

* * *

"Kaoru-sama!" Aoi suddenly leapt upon Kaoru as he opened the door. Her arms went around him. "I was so worried!"

"I'm okay, Aoi-chan," he said. His hand did go up to his neck where the Spirit had grabbed him.

"Please, let me check your wounds," she said.

Kaoru knew there was no denying her so he went into the apartment and closed the door behind him. Shrugging of his shirt, he winced when he felt the fabric rub against one of the wounds. Aoi frowned as she saw the scratches on his chest, but she was relieved to know that he wasn't wounded seriously like he had with the previous Spirit. All that would be needed was some disinfectant and fresh bandages. That in itself was relieving.

"I am glad you're okay," Aoi smiled. "Did you manage to defeat the Spirit?"

"No. It ran away," Kaoru answered. "That's the first time it happened so it was a little surprising. It was attacking a woman in a car. Luckily she was okay. I came home after making sure she was okay."

"Well, I'm sure you'll defeat it next time," Aoi reassured her beloved as she took stock of all the wounds and mentally tallying how many bandages she needed. "I ran a hot bath for you. I think you need it at this point."

"Ah, thank you Aoi-chan," Kaoru smiled. Getting up, he made his way to the washroom and got himself inside the room before he began to undress.

The water slightly stung because of the wounds. Still, he managed to get used to it. He then enjoyed the sensation of the hot water. He could clean up later. He just needed to soak his wounds for a moment. Fighting Spirits was never fun, but this was the first time one had run away. It bothered him slightly, but he resolved to deal with it when it came.

"Kaoru-sama?" Aoi's voice called from outside the bathroom. "Do you need help washing your back?"

"Ah!" Kaoru cried in shock. Did he hear what he thought he heard? "Aoi-chan!?"

"I'm coming in," she called. Kaoru, panicking, immediately got out of the bath and grabbed his towel. Of course, he slipped on a bar of soup and when Aoi opened the door he fell forwards on top of her. She let out a scream as he fell on top of the young blue haired woman.

'_Could things possibly get worse?_' thought Kaoru worriedly.

Be careful what you wish for, Kaoru Hanabishi…

All of a sudden, the door was thrown open and a mauve haired woman entered with a panicked expression on her face.

"AOI-SAMA!" she shouted as she looked all around the room before she gawked at the spectacle happening in the centre of the room. A naked man was on top of her Aoi-sama and molesting her. The woman's face instantly transformed into a portrait of feminine fury. "YOU BEAST!"

"Chotto! Chotto!" Kaoru exclaimed, trying to explain himself, but he was kicked right across the room.

"Aoi-sama!" the woman cried as she helped Aoi up. "Are you alright?"

Kaoru groaned as he rubbed his head from where it had hit the wall. As if he hadn't been injured enough in one night? First a Spirit and now some gung-ho woman who came out of no where wanted a piece of him. Some days it just didn't pay to get out of bed. Granted though, it did look like he was doing something inappropriate to Aoi. What kind of real woman wouldn't react to that?

* * *

Several coils of barbwire had pooled in front of the apartment building. Its enemy was inside as well as its prey. So, two for the price of one. This was good, very, very good…

* * *

After getting himself dressed and explaining himself, Miyabi decided to explain things to Kaoru about the situation with Aoi.

"The engagement has, unfortunately, been broken," said Miyabi. She was sitting across from both Aoi and Kaoru. Even though she had been told what had happened, she was still less than pleased with what she had seen. Even less with the two people in front of her had done. One had abandoned his family and the other had disobeyed her own to come see this…ronin.

Kaoru was shocked and looked towards Aoi. "Aoi-chan…?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," said Aoi. "But when I found out, I…I just had to come see you!"

"Well, now that Aoi-sama has met you, it is best that she leave," said Miyabi. "I apologize for the trouble Aoi has caused. We will be going now."

Kaoru was shocked about the latest turn of events. Aoi was leaving…again. He couldn't let that happen. "Wait! What if Aoi-chan doesn't want to leave?" Miyabi glared at Kaoru but Kaoru had stared death in the face many times and glared back. He was a hardened warrior and would not back down. Miyabi seemed to sense this on an instinctive level and looked away first.

"Unfortunately, I am following orders," said Miyabi. "You have left the Hanabishi clan and therefore not worthy to be Aoi-sama's fiancé. I am sorry."

Kaoru clenched his fists and looked towards Aoi who looked back. So much had happened in such a short time. "Miyabi-san, there's something…" Aoi began to say. Of course, she paused when she saw Kaoru clutching his head. "Kaoru-sama?"

Kaoru felt a throbbing in his head and screwed his eyes shut. Suddenly, they snapped wide open as he shouted, "GET DOWN!"

All of a sudden, the window shattered as several lengths of barbwire shot inside. Kaoru had jumped up and pushed both Aoi and Miyabi onto the floor. The barbwire tore across his back and he let out a grunt of pain as blood spilled out from the open wound.

Aoi gasped. "Kaoru-sama!"

"W-what!?" Miyabi exclaimed.

Kaoru drew out the dagger as the belt formed. The barbwire had reformed into the Spirit and it snarled at Kaoru. "You again? This time I'll finish it! Henshin!"

Kaoru was surrounded by white power before it vanished revealing him as Ronin. Miyabi again blanched, having no idea what to do. Ronin growled as he drew his sword. Snarling, he leaped at the opposing Spirit and tackled it. Both crashed out through the window and smashed through the outside railing before slamming onto the ground. A dust cloud lifted, but Ronin and the Spirit were still fighting each other. Ronin was lashing out with his sword while the Spirit had wrapped its fists in barbwire and was punching at him.

"Kaoru-sama!" Aoi cried as she and Miyabi left the apartment to view the fight. Ronin had just gotten punched across the face.

"How…wha…who...he…" Miyabi mumbled, having trouble connecting Kaoru to the samurai who'd saved her earlier.

Ronin stumbled back from the punch, getting annoyed with the Spirit who had the gall to attack him in his own home. Clutching his sword, he carved the symbol for wolf in the air. The magic activated and Lunar Wolf leaped through the circle and pounced on the stunned Spirit. The glowing beast dragged the Spirit out into the street, biting and chomping at the Spirit's flesh. Desperate for freedom, the Spirit wrapped some barbwire around the beast's neck and threw it down the street. As it came to a stop, Ronin stepped up next to it.

"I'm going to end this," Ronin growled. As Lunar Wolf got back up, Ronin got on its back. The beast howled before leaping up into the air, silhouetted by the moon above. Ronin raised his hand, summoning a shining crystal. Inserting it into his blade, the steel grew to the size of a huge blade with white lines running through it. Both Ronin and Lunar Wolf shone as bright as the moon as they dove back down at the stunned Barbwire Spirit.

"TSUKUYOMI!" Ronin roared as he and Lunar Wolf came down.

The blur hit the ground and raced past the Spirit. Behind them, a large glowing gouge in the ground appeared. The Spirit was still as Ronin and his partner came to a stop. Getting off the animal's back, he turned to the Spirit. At first it seemed he had missed, but soon after a huge white gash in the Spirit appeared. It cried out in pain before exploding in white light before reforming into the kanji for 'seal' before finally fading away.

"Finally," Ronin nodded as his armor and Lunar Wolf vanished. Kaoru turned to see the damage to his apartment before dropping to his knees, the back of his shirt stained red from the gashes. He was panting for breath.

"Kaoru-sama!" Aoi cried as she dashed down the steps, across the ruined ground and to her tired beloved. He helped him up to his feet with one hand on his back. She didn't care about the blood staining her hand, only about him. "Are you alright?"

"Had worse," said Kaoru. He then looked ahead to stare at Miyabi. "I bet you want answers."

Miyabi attempted to recompose herself. She hadn't expected this, nor had she expected to owe Kaoru her life for earlier. Now, she was honor bound to him. Of course, she also had to tell Aoi's parents about what was happening. It was her duty. However, she was torn.

"Yes, I would like some answers," said Miyabi, "But for now we should have your wounds treated.**"**

Things were starting to become more and more difficult.

"Sure," Kaoru nodded. "I hope the bandages survived all the chaos."

Getting helped to his feet by both women, Kaoru was walked back to his apartment. There some questions would be answered and some wounds would be treated, hopefully not in that order. The wounds on his back felt pretty bad. He hadn't gotten wounded on the back in a while. The only scars there were the ones his tyrant of a grandfather had given him in his efforts to try and erase Kaoru's mother from the Hanabishi home and from Kaoru's life.

Once inside, Aoi had asked Kaoru to remove his shirt. He kept his back facing away from Miyabi. She had no reason to see those scars. As Aoi was treating his wounds, he faced Miyabi seriously. At first, Miyabi had thought he was a dishonorable outcast, but her opinion had dramatically changed.

"So, you want to know about that monster and the armor?" said Kaoru.

"Yes," answered Miyabi.

"Well, it all started 3 months ago," began Kaoru as he told the story he'd told Aoi the night before.

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: Wonder how Miyabi will affect things?


	4. The Mansion

"I'm going to end this," Ronin growled. As Lunar Wolf got back up, Ronin got on its back. The beast howled before leaping up into the air, silhouetted by the moon above. Ronin raised his hand, summoning a shining crystal. Inserting it into his blade, the steel grew to the size of a huge blade with white lines running through it. Both Ronin and Lunar Wolf shone as bright as the moon as they dove back down at the stunned Barbwire Spirit.

"TSUKUYOMI!" Ronin roared as he and Lunar Wolf came down.

The blur hit the ground and raced past the Spirit. Behind them, a large glowing gouge in the ground appeared. The Spirit was still as Ronin and his partner came to a stop. Getting off the animal's back, he turned to the Spirit. At first it seemed he had missed, but soon after a huge white gash in the Spirit appeared. It cried out in pain before exploding in white light before reforming into the kanji for 'seal' before finally fading away.

"Finally," Ronin nodded as his armor and Lunar Wolf vanished. Kaoru turned to see the damage to his apartment before dropping to his knees, the back of his shirt stained red from the gashes. He was panting for breath.

"Kaoru-sama!" Aoi cried as she dashed down the steps, across the ruined ground and to her tired beloved. He helped him up to his feet with one hand on his back. She didn't care about the blood staining her hand, only about him. "Are you alright?"

"Had worse," said Kaoru. He then looked ahead to stare at Miyabi. "I bet you want answers."

Miyabi attempted to recompose herself. She hadn't expected this, nor had she expected to owe Kaoru her life for earlier. Now, she was honor bound to him. Of course, she also had to tell Aoi's parents about what was happening. It was her duty. However, she was torn.

"Yes, I would like some answers," said Miyabi, "But for now we should have your wounds treated."

Things were starting to become more and more difficult.

"Sure," Kaoru nodded. "I hope the bandages survived all the chaos."

Getting helped to his feet by both women, Kaoru was walked back to his apartment. There some questions would be answered and some wounds would be treated, hopefully not in that order. The wounds on his back felt pretty bad. He never got wounded on the back for a while. The only scars there were the ones his tyrant of a grandfather had given him in his efforts to try and erase Kaoru's mother from the Hanabishi home and from Kaoru's life.

Once inside, Aoi had asked Kaoru to remove his shirt. He kept his back facing away from Miyabi. She had no reason to see those scars. As Aoi was treating his wounds, he faced Miyabi seriously. At first, Miyabi had thought he was a dishonorable outcast, but her opinion had dramatically changed.

"So, you want to know about that monster and the armor?" said Kaoru.

"Yes," answered Miyabi.

"Well, it all started 3 months ago," began Kaoru as he told the story he'd told Aoi the night before.

* * *

**AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN**

* * *

Miyabi was starting to have second thoughts about Kaoru Hanabishi. She initially thought of him as a dishonorable ronin for abandoning his clan. However, after witnessing him risking his life to protect them and after hearing about what he'd been doing the past 3 months her views of him had changed. She hated being wrong and not only that she also owed him a debt of gratitude for saving her life, twice.

"Miyabi-san, are you alright?" Aoi noticed that Miyabi remained silent even after Kaoru had finished his tale.

"This…is a lot to take in," said Miyabi. She really wished all this was just a bad dream. At least then she could wake up, but this was reality. Kaoru was a warrior, a samurai, who battled against evil Spirits to protect humans.

"How do you think it makes me feel?" questioned Kaoru as he put his shirt back on. Aoi did an excellent job in fixing him up. "Oh, and sorry about your car."

Miyabi shrugged. "I can just call a taxi. Of course, I do wish to ask how you will sleep tonight." She pointed to the ruined window and also the mess outside. "It surprises me that nobody else saw or heard anything, or came out to check."

"I've noticed that too," stated Kaoru. That fight with the Barbwire Spirit had been loud. Of course, it was late, so people were asleep and most wouldn't let such loud noises disturb their slumber. His eyes then went towards Aoi and then Miyabi. "Are you still going to take Aoi-chan with you?"

"I must. As her guardian it is my duty to ensure her safety. As much as I owe you a debt of gratitude for protecting Aoi-sama and I and for saving our lives, I must take her away with me." Aoi gasped.

"Miyabi-san, you can't!" Aoi protested.

"Aoi-sama, it's not safe for you to be here!" Miyabi argued.

"I have Kaoru-sama to protect me!" countered Aoi.

"Aoi-chan, you should go home," said Kaoru. The blue-haired young woman looked at him in shock.

"But…"

"Aoi-chan, that Spirit came after me and you nearly got hurt. I have to think about your safety too in all this," he rationalized.

"But…who will take care of you? Who will cook your meals and…" Aoi began.

"I've been doing pretty well myself, Aoi-chan," said Kaoru, keeping his eyes to the floor. "Please, for your own sake, can you go home…?"

"But…"

"Please…"

Aoi's heart was breaking. She thought that maybe she could live with Kaoru. However, an unmarried man and woman living together would be scandalous. Her parents would not allow it. She didn't care, really. All she wanted was to be with Kaoru-sama. She understood that he needed to protect her and that his work was dangerous, but as his future wife she would be able to endure all the danger as long as she could remain by her side.

"But what about the window? You'll catch a cold," said Aoi.

Kaoru raised his dagger and said, "Leave that to me." He went over to the shattered window and 'wrote' in the air using the dagger. The Kanji for 'restore' appeared and the glass shards soon flew off the floor and bonded together to become the window. It looked brand new, as if nothing had broken it. Even the railing outside had been repaired.

Miyabi and Aoi were stunned by the mystical power contained in the dagger. Miyabi knew where Kaoru had gotten it but she wanted to know more. "Kaoru-dono," began Miyabi. "May I examine the dagger?"

Kaoru had no reason to decline and handed the weapon to Aoi's guardian. She looked it over and her eyes widened briefly in recognition. This was going to change a lot of things if this dagger proved authentic. She needed to speak with Aoi's parents about this. "Thank you, Kaoru-dono." She handed it back to him. "Now, we must take our leave."

* * *

Kaoru watched as the taxi drove off and waved as Aoi looked back at him. He turned away, not wanting to look at her heartbroken expression any longer. He looked up at his apartment and said, "Alone again…"

* * *

"I came here prepared to properly scold you and remind you of how worried both of your parents were," Miyabi sighed as the pair talked in the back of the cab. "However, after what I have seen in that young man, I can probably understand your reasoning in wishing to stay near him. He's brave, honorable, and very responsible."

"Yes, and so much more," Aoi nodded sadly.

"I will have to tell your parents about what happened. Although…if what I saw on that dagger was true, if it was truly passed to him…" Miyabi frowned.

"His dagger?" asked Aoi. "Does it hold some significance beyond what allows Kaoru-sama to do?"

"Assuming it is real and was given to him lawfully, then it will hold an extreme significance," Miyabi answered. She wished she could tell her charge more, but there was no sense in getting her hopes up.

* * *

Kaoru was beginning to miss Aoi's presence, even if it's only been for a short time. He'd already gotten used to eating alone but when she was here he'd been happy. When he woke up to see she wasn't there he could only think of how empty the room felt without her. Waking up to see her had brightened his day.

He ate his usual breakfast, something simple, before getting himself ready for class. He then walked out of his apartment to get to the university.

In the train he looked out the window neutrally. '_Looks like it's back to being alone…_' He was used to it already, but being with Aoi, even for a short time, was starting to mess with his head and heart. '_Damn it_…'

In class he barely paid attention to the lectures and when the day was done he returned home. He opened the door and greeted, "Tadai…" before catching himself. Why was he announcing that he'd returned home? He was alone again. There was no Aoi to greet him back.

"Okaeri nasai, Kaoru-sama," he heard and his eyes widened as he looked up to see Aoi smiling back at him. He dropped his backpack in shock.

"Aoi-chan?" Was this a dream? "Why are you here?"

"I've come home," she answered. Kaoru then ran towards her and pulled her into a hug.

"I've missed you," he said. Aoi blushed but returned the embrace as she closed her eyes to enjoy his warmth. He then realized what he was doing before backing away. "Sorry! I don't know what came over me." He then realized something and asked, "Aoi-chan, did you get permission?"

"Actually…I snuck out," said Aoi. Kaoru blinked. "I don't care if our engagement is broken. I just…wanted to see you again."

Kaoru wanted to see her too, badly. However, fate was against them. He was a ronin and she was from the Sakuraba Clan. It wouldn't work out. However, he didn't care for that. No matter what he would definitely fight to be with Aoi. She was his childhood friend and if she was right she would be his future wife.

"Me too…" he said. "I…missed you." She hadn't been gone long but he already missed her.

"Me too."

They were like that for several moments before…

"Ahem!"

The pair jumped apart and looked towards the door to see Miyabi and an elderly woman in a deep green kimono. Aoi gasped, "Okaa-sama!"

Kaoru's eyes widened. Aoi's mother? He gulped. Things were definitely going to become difficult for them.

* * *

"Here's your tea," said Kaoru as he offered the cup to both Miyabi and Aoi's mother. Aoi was seated by his side as she deemed where she belonged, sitting across from her guardian and her mother. She wanted to face this with Kaoru no matter what. Her father was unable to come due to a business trip so that left his wife to handle things while he was away. She was a respectable woman with an aura that demanded respect and she'd earned it. The Sakuraba name was not something to scoff at.

"Hanabishi-san," spoke Aoi's mother. "By now you must know of the status of your engagement. It has been voided."

"I know that," Kaoru nodded.

"Then why do you persist in being with her like this?" Mrs. Sakuraba asked sternly. "Why not send her away and end this?"

"Despite the engagement, I truly do care for Aoi-chan," Kaoru answered as calmly as he could. He was extremely nervous though. "Seeing her again, spending time with her, just knowing that there were feelings between us, I couldn't let that go so easily. I saw nothing truly wrong since she was not promised to anyone else as to my knowledge."

"That is true, although my husband is considering trying again," Mrs. Sakuraba nodded. "However, you do know that by abandoning your clan and the status with it, you sacrificed any hope of being with my daughter."

Kaoru bit his tongue to keep from talking. He desperately wanted to say why he left, but he couldn't disrespect his grandfather like that. For all he knew, Aoi's family could still be on speaking terms with him. The head of the Hanabishi family was not a patient man and not known for keeping his temper.

Both Mrs. Sakuraba and Miyabi took notice of his desire to speak, but reluctance to do so. They could ask him about later if he wished.

"However, Miyabi-san has told me about a rather fantastic event that transpired here before she managed to recover my daughter. Normally I would disregard it as a fantasy, but something struck me as familiar," Mrs. Sakuraba continued.

"What would that be, Sakuraba-dono?" asked Kaoru curiously.

"Do you or do you not have in your possession an ornate silver dagger?" the elder woman asked simply. "If you do, would you please let me examine it?"

"Hai," Kaoru nodded as he retrieved the item in question. Placing the dagger in the centre of the table, he saw Mrs. Sakuraba's eyes widen in shock. She reached to it and gently ran her fingers across the designs.

"Incredible…it is genuine," she gasped. "If what I have been told is true about how you received it…oh Kami his poor family."

"Huh?" Kaoru blinked in shock. "Sakuraba-dono, do you now where the silver warrior came from?"

"I have a suspicion," Mrs. Sakuraba answered. "However, I still have more questions of my own. I was told that you saved not only my daughter, but Miyabi-san as well by taking a strike to your back. May I ask to see those wounds?"

Kaoru hand instantly went up to clutch his shoulder. "I apologize, but I must decline your request." He had taken a hit in the back, but there were numerous scars there that he didn't want to share with anyone. They were scars from a past he'd rather not remember but those scars reminded him of those events. They were private and he didn't want to show them to anyone. Only Aoi had seen them recently and Kaoru wasn't feeling too excited about showing them to anyone else.

Mrs. Sakuraba noted the dire expression on Kaoru's face and chose to let it go. If it was something private then she didn't have the right to pry. Still, she wanted to confirm a few things, mostly regarding the Ronin Dagger and its fabled/famed capabilities.

"Very well," Mrs. Sakuraba nodded. "My next question is, does this dagger give you the capability of doing extraordinary things such as donning silver armor, calling a large wolf, and even turning itself into a katana?"

"Hai," Kaoru nodded. "The dagger has done all that. I even learned that I could repair broken things with it just by writing in the air."

"I see," Mrs. Sakuraba nodded. On the inside though, she was growing excited. The fables she had been told about the dagger were indeed true. Miyabi never lied and this young man was upholding her story, even mentioning things that she didn't hint that Miyabi had told her. If these tales were proving to be true, then certain other tales she had the fortune of learning about were most likely true as well.

"I believe that I may be able to assist," Mrs. Sakuraba finally spoke. "It may take a day or two to confirm a few things. However, I see no harm in Aoi indulging herself during that time."

"Sakuraba-dono!" Miyabi gasped. "Although Kaoru-dono has proven himself a good man, he is still just a boy!"

"Then you will have no complaints about checking in on them from time to time," Mrs. Sakuraba retorted. "You are Aoi's guardian when myself or my husband are unable to be with her after all."

"…hai, Sakuraba-dono," Miyabi nodded as she retook her still and silent pose.

"So, Okaa-sama, you will allow Kaoru-sama and I to be together?" Aoi asked hopefully.

"If you wish, but what about you, Hanabishi-san?" Mrs. Sakuraba asked.

Kaoru looked to Aoi and she smiled at him. It was then that he found his answer. He clasped her hand and their fingers intertwined.

"Yes, I want to be with Aoi-chan as well," said Kaoru.

Mrs. Sakuraba smiled and then said, "Very well. Since you have proven yourself to be a capable young man I don't see why not my daughter cannot be with you." She became serious and rigid again, "However, my main concern is about your statis as a ronin. This will not be received well by the rest of the Sakuraba Clan. They will protest and this will surely lead to a scandal."

"I will take full responsibility for it if that were to happen," said Kaoru firmly.

"Yes, but what about my daughter, Aoi? Is she prepared to face the same hardships?" She asked her daughter, "Are you?"

"I am," said Aoi firmly. Mrs. Sakuraba could see the confidence in her daughter's eyes and couldn't be more proud to have raised a strong-willed daughter. Still, her defiance was something that would not bode well for her husband. However, if what she suspected about the dagger was true, this entire event may turn into a blessing in disguise for everyone involved.

* * *

Kaoru waited at the train station for Aoi to return. She just needed to pack some things for a few days while her mother got her business finished. What it was, Mrs. Sakuraba wasn't saying. Even Miyabi was tight lipped about it, but that was to be expected. Rather than worrying about it, Kaoru decided to focus on the fact that Aoi was going to remain a part of his life. Now that was something worth smiling over.

"Kaoru-sama!"

Kaoru looked up and saw Aoi walking towards him with a bright smile. She had a pink suitcase with her with enough clothes to last a few days. She was looking forward to sharing a home with Kaoru again. It would be just like it was before, even better now that she had her mother's approval.

"Aoi-chan," Kaoru smiled. "I hope you have everything you need."

"Yes, I think so," Aoi nodded as she gripped her suitcase.

"Okay then," Kaoru smiled. "Let's go home."

"Hai!" Aoi smiled brightly.

He took her hand and walked with her back to the apartment. This was a beginning of a new life for them.

Kaoru had to admit to himself that he was a little afraid of this change but it wasn't unwelcomed. It was a pleasant change. For a long time he'd woken up alone and come back to an empty house. Now, with Aoi, he wouldn't be alone.

* * *

When Kaoru opened the door to his apartment he got the biggest shock of his life. His entire place was EMPTY! All his furniture was gone.

"I'VE BEEN ROBBED!!!" Kaoru shouted, beginning to panic.

"Wait, Kaoru-sama, there's a note here," said Aoi, pointing to the door where a note had been stuck upon it. Kaoru grabbed the note and ripped it off the door before scanning its contents.

_Dear Kaoru-dono, _

_As you can see all your furniture is gone. There is a very good reason for that. Please, follow the directions written here to find the address. I've already spoken to your landlord so you won't need to see him about your living arrangements._

_Signed: Miyabi Kagurazaki_

Kaoru's eye twitched. He'd been hoping to be staying with Aoi but now he had to leave his apartment for a new place.

"Kaoru-sama?" Aoi asked worriedly.

"Looks like I'm moving out," said Kaoru.

**

* * *

  
**

The pair later stood outside a mansion which was a few stories tall and looked to be of western architecture. Aoi, being used to seeing such buildings growing up, was just fine with it. Kaoru on the other hand was practically gaping at the sight of the large building.

"This is the Sakuraba summer home," Miyabi explained as she met the couple at the door. "Sakuraba-dono saw it fit to let the two of you stay here. However, there is something I must stress to you both!"

The pair looked to the older woman with rapt attention.

"Until further notice, no one can find out your connection to each other," Miyabi explained. "And I mean NO ONE. The scandal would prove incredible and damage the reputation of the Sakuraba family incredible. I'm sure you can understand what that would mean."

Aoi looked stricken and Kaoru held his peace. It made sense. He was ronin who abandoned his clan and Aoi was a member of one of the most prestigious families in Japan. The Sakuraba Department Store chain was a huge business with many competitors and rivals could take advantage of any weakness they could find within the family. If word got out that the daughter of the Head of the Sakuraba Clan was engaged to a ronin, the damage would be too great and they would loose credibility.

"Yes, I do," said Kaoru. "And I understand."

"Kaoru-sama…" said Aoi.

"It's alright. I'm fine with it. As long as I'm with you I'm satisfied," said Kaoru.

"That is why until further notice you will live there, in the refurbished servants' quarters," said Miyabi, pointing to a wooden cabin that wasn't very fair from the main house. It was small, but it looked cozy enough for him. It wasn't any different from Kaoru's old apartment.

"Now, there are some ground rules that you must know," said Miyabi and Kaoru paid attention as Miyabi listed each and every one of them.

* * *

Luckily, all of Kaoru's stuff had been moved to his new room. The only thing he needed to do was unpack everything and make the room more like home. As he was starting to unpack, he heard a tapping sound against his door. He went over and slid it open to reveal Aoi.

"Aoi-chan, what are you doing here?" Kaoru asked.

"I just thought maybe you would like some help unpacking," said Aoi as she barely hid her blush.

"Sure, come in," said Kaoru as he allowed her inside.

* * *

Meals would be served at a set time. Aoi would be the one to cook and Kaoru was looking forward to what she would be making. He sat at the dining table, waiting with Miyabi, before he stood up. Miyabi asked curiously, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see if Aoi-chan needs help with anything," said Kaoru.

Miyabi knew this was an excuse. He probably wanted to see Aoi. "Fine, but no funny business."

Kaoru blushed before heading to the kitchen.

* * *

From within the darkness it emerged. Its feet clanked against the ground. It was vaguely humanoid, standing at 7 feet tall. The Spirit, like many others, had dark skin and appeared to be made of iron. The iron mask which was its face had a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. Instead of fingers, it possessed curves sickle blades which scraped along the ground as it marched through the night. It was looking for fresh victims.

A car stopped in front of the Sickle Spirit. The driver, unaware what he'd nearly hit was inhuman, stepped out of his vehicle, yelling angrily. Moments later, when he got a clear view of the Spirit his eyes widened in horror as his skin paled. He let out a scream which was silenced when the Spirit's sickle claws came down.

* * *

As Kaoru was enjoying his dinner with Aoi and Miyabi, the throbbing sensation in his head caused him to groan. The two women looked to him in concern, but Miyabi's look was also laced with some curiosity.

"A Spirit?"Aoi asked.

"Hai," Kaoru answered as he got up from his chair. "I need to go." He then ran out of the dining room and towards the front door.

* * *

The Sickle Spirit licked the blood off its claws. The human had been delicious but yet its hunger was not yet satisfied. It needed to feed on more human flesh until it was full. The growling of an engine caught its attention and it looked ahead to see another human riding a two-wheeled vehicle. The vehicle stopped and its rider dismounted before removing his helmet.

Kaoru could see the blood on the ground and the car that looked to have been ripped apart by the Spirit's claws. The victim must've tried to escape but had his car ruined before being dragged out and eaten. Kaoru grimaced and then stared at the Sickle Spirit hatefully.

"Henshin!" Kaoru cried as he stabbed the dagger into the slot on his belt. He then charged at the Spirit as his armor was forming. Once the suit was fully formed he withdrew his dagger, which was now a katana, before attacking.

Ronin slashed at the Spirit who was using its claws to parry the blows. Spars flew as their weapons connected and clashed. The Spirit tried to slash at Ronin but he managed to evade the strike before stabbing his sword into its stomach. The Spirit grinned wickedly before slashing at Ronin.

Ronin let out a scream as he was slashed and then he as sent flying by a vicious blow in the chest. He tumbled along the ground before landing face up on the ground. He rolled over and picked himself back up as he glared at the Spirit. His sword was still embedded in the Spirit's gut so there was no way for him to get it without getting himself hurt.

"Lunar Wolf!" he called with a whistle and instantly the bike transformed into his familiar, the armoured beast known as Lunar Wolf. It let out a howl and lunged at the Spirit. The Spirit simply batted it away and it slammed against the wall. Now Ronin knew he was in trouble. This Spirit was way stronger than anything he'd come across before and it was coming right for him.

As the Sickle Spirit attacked savagely, Ronin had no choice but to dodge. It was too risky trying to get his sword again but he needed it to finish this Spirit off. It was his primary weapon and finished.

The Spirit suddenly wailed as Lunar Wolf jumped up and dug its claws into its back and bit down upon its shoulder. The Sickle Spirit thrashed wildly as it tried to get the wolf off but the wolf was determined to subdue it and tightened its grip as its claws dug deeper into its hide.

As Ronin was about to try and retrieve his sword, the full moon was revealed through the clouds. Its silver light shone down on the silver fighter. As it did, his armor began to shine brightly. He felt a rush race down his spine and the energy from the armor pooled down his body and began to pool into his right foot. Looking at where the power was pooled, Ronin gasped to see his right boot glowing brightly. Looking at the still pinned Sickle Spirit, Ronin decided to give it a charge.

Racing forward, Ronin took a flying leap into the air. His right foot was extended, aimed at the Spirit. He was silhouetted by the moon. As he came closer, the boot began to shine.

"Silver Crash!" Ronin's foot collided against the Spirit, making a shockwave of silver energy. The Lunar Wolf released the Spirit as Ronin collided with it. The Spirit roared in pain as the force of the attack sent it several feet backwards and skidding across the ground. Screeching, the monster struggled for a moment before finally exploding. The released energy reformed into a silver kanji for 'Seal' before finally fading away.

Ronin landed on the ground, gasping for breath. That was a new attack he didn't even know he had. It would certainly come in handy if he lost his sword again. Speaking of which, he picked up his sword and then went over to pet his partner on the head. It responded in kind before changing into his bike. His armor vanished in a flash of light before he put his riding helmet on and he got on the bike before racing back towards the Sakuraba Mansion.

* * *

He had been looking for Kaoru and when he thought he'd managed to track the young man down he found out that he'd moved out of his apartment. At first he was frustrated but he did manage to find out Kaoru's new address and followed it to where he was now.

"So, this is where he lives?" the man said as he looked at the Sakuraba Mansion. He sensed movement and looked through the corner of his eye. It was a Spirit coming at him. "Cheh, damned Spirits."

Suddenly, the Spirit froze. All the while, the man had his hand on his sword's hilt. It didn't look like he'd moved. With a click, it was fully sheathed. The Spirit was suddenly cut in half and collapsed before it faded away, making a golden symbol of 'Seal' before vanishing completely.

"Kaoru Hanabishi…"

* * *

ZK Chromedragozoid: OK, so Kaoru is now living with Aoi but there are still some new challenges he must face. Also, who was this guy looking for him? Answers will come in the next chapter.


	5. The Shogun

He had been looking for Kaoru and when he thought he'd managed to track the young man down he found out that he'd moved out of his apartment. At first he was frustrated but he did manage to find out Kaoru's new address and followed it to where he was now.

"So, this is where he lives?" the man said as he looked at the Sakuraba Mansion. He sensed movement and looked through the corner of his eye. It was a Spirit coming at him. "Cheh, damned Spirits."

Suddenly, the Spirit froze. All the while, the man had his hand on his sword's hilt. It didn't look like he'd moved. With a click, it was fully sheathed. The Spirit was suddenly cut in half and collapsed before it faded away, making a golden symbol of 'Seal' before vanishing completely.

"Kaoru Hanabishi…"

* * *

**AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN**

* * *

The day had begun so well…

Kaoru had woken up with Aoi at his side, apparently she had wished to spend at least a little time sleeping next to him. Waking up next to her was always a treat. Since he didn't have school that day, Kaoru felt like he could take it easy. Even Miyabi didn't have any tasks needed for him to do. She was busy in her office with the Sakuraba Department Store paperwork so she didn't have the time to make up a list of jobs.

So he and Aoi spent their time calmly enjoying each other's company. Sadly, that came to a quick end when the feeling of a Spirit attacking got Kaoru to his feet. He was so intent on the Spirit itself, he didn't even notice that Aoi was following. The reason for Kaoru's focus? The Spirit was close to the house, just out in the street where it was attacking a bicyclist. Kaoru was quick to transform and save the man, but this Spirit, a Hammer Spirit with large iron hands, was able to block Kaoru's attacks and send him flying backwards.

After a particularly heavy hit, Ronin was sent skidding across the street on his back when he suddenly stopped at someone's feet. He looked up to see a man with brown hair pulled into a ponytail, a scar on his cheek and piercing blue eyes. "Cheh," the man said disdainfully, "Are you really supposed to be my brother's successor?"

"Huh?" Ronin responded, confused. The man then walked past Ronin and towards the Spirit. "Wait, it's dangerous!"

"Don't presume I am weak, you outsider!" the man snapped as he reached to the sword at his hip. The Spirit came charging but was sent backwards by a single swipe of the man's katana. "Let me show you how you fight Spirits!" He took out a golden dagger that was similar to Ronin's and a soon a bright light surrounded his waist to create belt like Ronin's as well, but with a sun on it instead. "Henshin!" He slid the blade of the dagger into a slot on the left of the buckle.

A golden sphere circled the man, leaving a black image of himself. Energy rippled off the sphere like fire. Large licks of the fire flew from the sphere, but quickly solidified into pieces of gold armor which had light reflecting like miniature suns themselves. The gold pieces of armor flew back into the sphere and attached themselves to his body. As the orb vanished, the new figure was revealed.

He was donned in a black bodysuit. His torso was gold with a samurai-esque image that had a sun depicted on them. The shoulder plates looked like lion heads, roaring loudly. His forearms depicted fire and gold gauntlets covered his hands. His legs were covered with golden boots that had suns on the knees. The helmet itself had a samurai look with red circular eyes. Fangs were etched on the smooth mouthplate, but a gold mane was depicted near the back of the helmet.

"Sword of the flames that cuts down the darkness! Ore wa Shogun! Kenzan!"

The Spirit roared and lunged at the new arrival. Panicking, Ronin warned, "Watch out!" The golden clad Shogun merely reached to the sword at his hip and unsheathed it before releasing a horizontal arch of energy which flew at the Spirit, ripping it in half. The Spirit froze as a line of white light appeared right down its middle before it exploded, creating the kanji symbol for 'Seal' before it vanished. Ronin was awed by the amount of power the newcomer had displayed. Even he had trouble with the Spirit.

"So, you're supposed to be my brother's replacement?" Shogun said to Ronin.

"Brother?" Ronin's eyes widened under his helmet. "Masaka…You're…Who are you?"

"The one who will take back what you stole from him!" Shogun then took a sudden swipe at Ronin without warning.

"Woah!" Ronin exclaimed as he blocked the blow with his sword, causing sparks to fly as soon as the blade clashed. Ronin then sidestepped another blow aimed for him before he began to retaliate.

"You're untrained!" Shogun sneered as he dodged a strike, "And you have little experience outside of fighting Spirits!" he added as he dodged another strike. "Furthermore, you're using that sword wrong!" He then kicked out with his leg and threw Ronin onto his back. The Wolf Warrior of the Moon grunted when the Lion Warrior of the Sun had him pinned down under his foot, the tip of his blade pointed at his throat. "For the sake of my brother's honor, you must die." He took a few steps back and gripped his blade, raising it up to deal the killing blow.

"NO!" Aoi shouted as she threw herself in between Shogun and Ronin. She actually pushed Shogun back as she stood between him and Ronin with are arms spread out. "Don't you dare kill him!"

"Stand aside, woman!" Shogun warned. "This doesn't concern you!"

"Yes it does! Kaoru-sama is fighting to protect others! Your brother would be upset if you did this!"

Shogun growled, "Don't presume that you know my brother, woman."

"I know that he must've been a great man. He was selfless and fought for the protection of others. He would risk his life for others and gave his life to protect Kaoru-sama. To do this would be insulting to his memory."

"Don't you think I know that! Saito…Saito was my brother. He was the chosen one and was always better than me! When I heard about what happened, I couldn't believe it! This man stole my brother's legacy and I'm taking it back!"

"Please, I beg of you…don't kill Kaoru-sama!" Tears began to flow from her eyes like a river. As Shogun continued to watch, he began to grow uneasy and uncomfortable. Actually, it was more of a weakness. Shogun, despite the fact that he was a serious swordsman, could NEVER stand the sight of a girl crying and he still couldn't get over it.

"Alright! Alright!" Shogun turned away. "Fine, I'll let him live, for now…" the Lion Warrior of the Sun turned away. "But mark my words, woman, that he will one day die for his lack of experience and fighting prowess. I can never let my brother's legacy die just yet." He then walked off, his armor vanishing.

Aoi was relieved and then went to tend to Kaoru once his own armor disappeared.

* * *

"Another warrior?" Miyabi ased in surprise.

Miyabi had just taken a break from her paperwork when she saw her charge drag Kaoru in, battered, bloody, and bruised. At first she thought it was another Spirit (in which she was partially right) but Aoi then explained the gold warrior who attacked the young man.

"Yes," Aoi nodded as she dabbed disinfectant on of Kaoru's cuts. The young man was unconscious. "He claims that Kaoru-sama's predecessor was his brother. He feels that Kaoru-sama stole his brother's legacy."

"But…it is impossible to steal them if what Sakuraba-dono told me was true," frowned Miyabi. "I don't see how Kaoru-dono could have stolen it."

That much was true. The dagger could only be passed on and not stolen. Thieves were punished for their transgressions. So, it was absolutely impossible to steal the power without dire consequences.

"Miyabi-san, we must find him and explain the truth!" said Aoi firmly.

* * *

The man was sitting in the park, doing some thinking, when he looked over at his left to see two women approaching him. He recognized the kimono clad one and stood up. She had seen him transform so there was no doubt that she recognized him too.

Miyabi actually called some contacts and gave them a description of the man. It didn't take long to find him.

"Are you Shogun?" Aoi asked him bluntly.

"Who wants to know?" he responded gruffly.

"Do not speak to Aoi-sama like that!" Miyabi snapped.

"Miyabi-san, it's alright…"

"But…" She sighed. "Very well."

"May I ask your name, sir?" Aoi asked.

"Kenshin," he responded. "Kenshin Tsukitaiyo. Now, what do you want?"

"I have a request."

* * *

Kaoru trudged for the dinner table with his body filled with aches. He had a few new wounds to add to his collection and some aches to go with them. He was already regretting getting up, but if he could eat some of Aoi's cooking, then it would be worth it.

Walking into the dining room, Kaoru stopped when he saw everyone at the dinner table. One of them was Aoi, who was finishing setting places. Another was Miyabi, who looked like she was about to snap at someone at any moment. The third, however, who was sitting next to Miyabi, was none other than the man who had added the wounds and aches to him in the first place.

"What are you doing here!" Kaoru cried.

"Aoi-san came and found me…" Kenshin explained.

* * *

"_Please," Aoi begged as she was on her knees and bowing. "Train Kaoru-sama!"_

"_And why should I do that?" said Kenshin coldly._

"_Because it is your brother's legacy. As the one with the most experience now, it is your honor and duty to train your brother's successor."_

"_There is no way I will train that thief."_

"_Onegai!" Aoi began to cry, "Please, I don't want him to die! He is the one I care for the most!"_

"_Alright! Alright! Please, just stop crying!" If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was seeing girls crying._

* * *

"That is why I'll be staying here from now on. I'm here to train you and make sure you don't get yourself killed." Kenshin's glared at Kaoru.

Kaoru gulped. Somehow he felt that Kenshin was just going to use the excuse of training to kill him or to try and make him give up. Whichever one comes first.

Of course, this was also a good chance for Kaoru to learn more about the Ronin Dagger and the powers that came with it. The question was if Kenshin was willing to give the answers away.

"By the way, my name is Kenshin Tsukitaoyo."

"Kaoru Hanabishi."

"I know that already." Kenshin nodded. "After today, you're probably going to start hating me all the more."

* * *

Kenshin and Kaoru were facing off against each other in the backyard. Both were wearing workout clothes and both holding the ornate daggers which allowed them to transform into their armored forms. To the side, Aoi and even Miyabi were watching, curious as to what was happening.

"Before we begin," Kenshin spoke. "I think it's fair to let you now exactly how deep you've stepped into this business with the Spirits and the legacy of Ronin and Shogun."

"Huh?" Kaoru blinked.

"For generations, the Tsukitaiyo Family has been holding the daggers which allow us to change as their deepest secret," Kenshin explained. "We are the only defense against the Spirits who plague the people and thirst for their blood."

Kaoru gulped.

"It should also be prudent to now that the daggers cannot be stolen, only given freely," Kenshin added. "I may call you a thief, but I know that my brother gave you his dagger of his own free will, correct?"

"Hai," Kaoru nodded softly.

"Normally my brother would have passed it on to an apprentice from within our clan, but he had yet to choose a proper apprentice despite urgings from some of our family members," Kenshin sighed. "While what happened between my brother and you is certainly rare, it has happened before. Our family will know what to do with you."

"W-what do you mean?" Kaoru gulped. "What's going to happen to me?"

"I'll let you worry about that," Kenshin grinned.

Miyabi on the other hand had an inkling about what the Tsukitaiyo Family would do. The Sakuraba Family was perhaps not as old as the family which Kenshin claimed to be from, but it certainly had its share of contact with them. They had odd ways in the eyes of other families, but after what she had seen, she was beginning to understand why.

"Now, let's get things started." Kenshin raised his dagger to his face and then performed a diagonal slash which resulted in the dagger's blade extending to the length of a katana. This shocked Kaoru.

"How did you do that?" Kaoru questioned.

"You'll learn soon enough, now defend yourself!"

* * *

"Itai…" Kaoru groaned. It was a good thing that Kenshin had struck him only with the blunt side of the blade or else he'd be really injured. He sported several bruises on his arms and his torso, but nothing life threatening. He was trying to get Kaoru to defend himself without the use of his armor, which proved to be a challenge for the Hanabishi boy.

Aoi was tending to his new wounds. Only she was allowed to see him without his shirt on. Miyabi didn't need to know about the scars he got from his grandfather. Those were his own private scars that he would only share with Aoi, his future wife.

Speaking of Aoi, while part of her was glad that Kenshin would agree to train Kaoru, she was still worried about his methods. He looked ready to kill Kaoru but was relieved, somewhat, to see Kenshin taking an interest in Kaoru's skills…or lack of them. It still surprised him to see someone like Kaoru manage to survive fighting Spirits for 3 whole months. Kaoru did gain many scars from those battles but those were the mark of a warrior.

Kaoru hissed a bit in pain but sighed in relief when Aoi rubbed some more salve on the bruises. She had such gentle hands.

* * *

"He's going to need more training if he's going to survive in the long run," stated Kenshin as he drank some tea with Miyabi. It was a really good blend.

"Yes, so when will we hear from your clan?" Miyabi asked.

"They'll need time to discuss this," said Kenshin. "The latest would be at the end of the month. Possibly longer. Some may even demand that Kaoru return the dagger."

"I see. What do you think, though, Kenshin-dono?"

"The boy has potential. He's green, but he has the makings of a warrior. I'm starting to see what Saito saw in him when he gave him the dagger."

"Well, with you training him, Kaoru-dono will no doubt become more formidable," stated Miyabi honestly.

"Yes…or I may end up unintentionally killing him," Kenshin remarked with a bit of a joking tone in his voice.

* * *

SPLASH!

"WARGH!" Kaoru cried out in shock before he started to sputter. He was soaking wet now. He looked up to see Kenshin standing over him with an empty bucket with water dripping from it.

"Get up, it's time for training," Kenshin ordered.

"What time is it?" Kaoru checked his alarm clock and his eyes widened, "5 AM!"

"Listen, if you're going to master the powers of Ronin, you need to train like my brother had. He always woke up at 5 AM to train," said Kenshin. "This doesn't clash with your schedule, does it?"

"Well…no." He had a class in the afternoon and that was it.

"Good, now get yourself cleaned up and meet me outside in 5 minutes and I do mean FIVE minutes. Any later and there will be severe consequences," threatened Kenshin.

* * *

Kaoru managed to get himself ready in 5 minutes flat, much to Kenshin's satisfaction. The Shogun was not going to show it but Kaoru proved promising. He'd seen some of Kaoru's battle scares and was surprised and impressed by how Kaoru had survived this long without any prior training, learning only on the fly. Of course, now Kenshin was going to whip the Hanabishi boy into shape.

"Here, take these and put them on. Two on your wrists and two on your ankles," said Kenshin as he pointed at two pairs of bands on the ground. Kaoru didn't question him and snapped them onto his wrists and ankles. That was when Kenshin took out his Shogun Dagger and wrote the kanji for 'heavy' in the air.

WHAM!

Kaoru fell face first into the ground as the magic activated. Apparently, the bands were enchanted to become heavy whenever Kenshin used the dagger. Kenshin grimaced and wrote the kanji for 'lighter' in the air and Kaoru managed to stand back up.

"OK, looks like you REALLY need to get in shape," said Kenshin. "Now, I want you to run 50 laps around the compound." He wrote the kanji for 'heavy' again in the air and this time made sure to make them manageable for Kaoru. "Now, move!"

Kaoru strained as he ran with the enchanted weighted bands. This was going to be a LONG morning.

* * *

Aoi gasped when she saw Kenshin drag an unconscious Kaoru into the mansion. He was dirty and sweaty and looked exhausted. "What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"He passed out when he ran laps around the compound. He barely made 50," said Kenshin.

"You made him run 50 laps!" Aoi exclaimed.

"Hey, 50 is normal for my family. If I wanted to I would've made him run 500, but since he's a beginner I made him do 50," said Kenshin. "Now, I think he really needs a bath."

"Let me take him," offered Aoi.

"OK, just make sure to get him cleaned all up. I'd do it but I'm not that kind of guy."

* * *

Kenshin sipped some coffee as he considered Kaoru's progress. The kid had potential, he had to admit it. He didn't complain once during the training and never asked questions. Frankly, Kenshin thought the kid had an iron will if the intense (for regular people) training hadn't made him crack.

Kenshin had learned a bit about Kaoru before hunting him down. He had learned that Kaoru was in line to inherit the Hanabishi Zaibatsu when he got old enough. Even if his parents weren't married when he was conceived, it would still all be his since there was no other heir. The previous one, the boy's father, died in an accident before another heir could be conceived. However, when he was old enough, Kaoru had abandoned the Hanabishi Clan and left. The group didn't put much effort into finding him. What had confused Kenshin was to why he abandoned it. If the boy had a will this strong surely he could put up with the demanding labors of Ronin and the training.

Kenshin got his answers when Kaoru was forced to remove his shirt for a moment. The kid didn't want him to see, but Kenshin saw the round scars on his back. There was a difference in scars obtained by Spirits and scars obtained by other means. Spirits left scars which were white and easy to spot. Other scars could turn either light or leave dark impressions. These round scars were the latter. Kaoru had gotten them from a human.

Kenshin had to deal with the Hanabishi Family now and then during functions he had been dragged to. His impression of old man Hanabishi wasn't good. The man was by far a control freak and tended to live in the past. Kenshin could also tell that the man had a temper, judging by the way he reacted to conversation subjects he didn't like. It wasn't too hard to guess that he was responsible for the marks on Kaoru's back in some way. Nothing got past that man's eyes when it came to his own family. Either he knew about who did it, or he was the cause. Frankly, Kenshin wasn't surprised that Kaoru ran away after seeing that, or that Kaoru's dad had to go behind the old man's back to be with the woman he loved.

The Tsukitaiyo Family didn't make much effort into contacting the Hanabishi Family. Not from lack of trying on the latter's part with talks of arranged marriages and such. Still, Kenshin would have to tell his family eventually what he found out about Kaoru since they would want to know who inherited the title of Ronin. He had to wonder know, did the Sakuraba Family know about Kaoru's treatment when they first forged their agreement or were they in the dark about it? The Sakuraba Family was rather strict, but they were good people. At least they didn't feel the need to beat their own family members to bring order and obedience from some of their members.

* * *

Kaoru's daily schedule had to be changed to accommodate Kenshin's training regime. He would need to wake up at 5 in the morning for training, which would last until breakfast and then he would be given time to relax before he went to the university. When he got back home it was even more training which would last an hour before dinner.

While Kenshin was a harsh taskmaster, Kaoru knew that Kenshin was thinking of his welfare, in a sense at least. He was his brother's successor and it was Kenshin's responsibility now to train him in the proper use of the sword. The way Kaoru had fought had only been on instinct, crude yet effective. Kenshin was there to refine Kaoru's skills and teach him how to use the power further.

Kaoru would soon get his chance when a Spirit made its presence known.

* * *

The woman screamed as she backed up against the tree and watched as her lover was strung up into the air and squeezed to death before being pulled into the gaping maw of the Spirit. It looked like a large and thick length of rope that was black with an upside down horrendous face that looked like a mask. It had several tongues hanging out that looked like rope and it had used them to bind, crush and pull its victim into its mouth. It was still hungry and looked towards the woman before letting its rope-tongues shoot it. However, before they could reach her, a figure dropped down in front of her and she heard the sound of steel swishing through the air before the Rope Spirit howled in pain.

"Go," the strange figure said, "Get to safety." Nodding quickly, she ran off. The Spirit hissed and prepared to attack but was slammed in the side by a bike resembling a golden lion and sent rolling down a hill. The bike landed and the engine stopped before the figure dismounted.

"OK, Hanabishi, let's go," one of them spoke.

"Hai, Kenshin-sensei," the second one answered.

"Henshin!" both called out and the two were bathed in light as they chased after the Rope Spirit. It managed to turn itself upright and shoot more of its ropes at the duo. However, the ropes were torn to ribbons as their swords shredded them. Screeching again, the Spirit burrowed into the ground like a worm. The two Riders scanned the area.

"Where is it?" Ronin asked.

"Lying in waiting for the time to strike," said Shogun cautiously. "Be on your guard."

The ground suddenly erupted and Ronin yelled as he was caught between the sharp jaws of the spirit. Shogun acted quickly and stabbed the thing. It let go and Ronin dropped to the ground, hard. His armor absorbed the impact but he was going to be sore for a good while.

Shogun was batted aside by the Rope Spirit and then it lunged for him, mouth wide open. He got ready for a counter attack when Ronin got in between him and the Spirit. He swung his sword down, releasing a crescent blade of energy which smashed into the Spirit, causing it to stagger backwards. It twitched for a second before shaking its head. It then lunged for the two again.

Shogun ordered, "Let's finish it together!"

"Hai!" Ronin obeyed.

Both warriors held out their hands, summoning a crystal each. Ronin's was silver with the kanji for 'moon' in it. Shogun's on the other hand was bright yellow with the kanji for 'sun' in it. Taking the crystals, both warriors slipped them into their swords, bringing the magic to bear. Ronin's sword grew and the white lines shone in the metal. Shogun's sword likewise took a similar form, but yellow lines were carved into the steel. Both warriors took a battle stance with a gold or silver aura surrounding them. The Rope Spirit remained undeterred as it continued charging at the pair.

"TSUKUYOMI!" Ronin cried as he attacked.

"AMATERASU!" Shogun bellowed as he likewise unleashed his own attack

Both fighters were a blur of gold and silver that shot past the Rope Spirit. The beast came to a stop, having missed its targets. Both Shogun and Ronin came to a stop and sheathed their swords. The Rope Spirit on the other hand, exploded in a blast of gold and silver before the energy formed the symbol for 'seal' and vanished.

After the Spirit was slain, Shogun looked towards Ronin and admitted, "Alright, you're good, but your form still needs work."

"I'll take any training you can give me, sensei," said Ronin, bowing humbly.

* * *

"How much do you know about Hanabishi?" Kenshin asked Miyabi bluntly after both men had returned to the house. Aoi was busy fretting over Kaoru's fresh wounds while Miyabi was getting tea for herself and Kenshin.

"Not too much I'm afraid," Miyabi shrugged. "I didn't take the time to learn during Aoi's engagement to him. I only learned about his family. Even now I don't know too much beyond his capabilities as Ronin."

"I think I may have learned something as to why he abandoned the Hanabishi Family," Kenshin frowned, thinking of what he had seen when Kaoru thought he wasn't looking.

"You do?" asked Miyabi. "I had initially thought that it was because he couldn't stand the pressure, but seeing him now…"

"The boy does well under pressure," Kenshin replied. "No…I think he left because of what his grandfather was doing to him."

"What?" Miyabi blinked.

"Don't tell Aoi or Kaoru that I saw or told you, and this doesn't leave between us," Kenshin whispered, feeling that even the walls have ears. "But, I found scars on Kaoru's back that didn't come from Spirits. Large round scars that looked like they were there long before any Spirit got their hands on him."

"You're not saying-?" Miyabi gasped.

"That old man Hanabishi beat the crap out of his own grandson? Enough to leave scars?" asked Kenshin. "Either he did or someone in the house did, but I can tell you that he knew about it. He's too much of a control freak not to know that this was happening if he didn't do it himself."

"Oh my goodness," Miyabi gasped softly. "Are…are you sure?"

"Medical training was part of the training I undertook before I could properly inherit Shogun," Kenshin answered. "Those scars on his back are too old. A couple of years if I guess right. They're also too dark. Spirits leave white scars. Also the size and shape of them indicate that someone spent a lot of time smashing something blunt into the poor kid's back. Probably a bat, or some kind of long instrument. Hell, it could have been old man Hanabishi's cane for all we know."

Miyabi blanched. No wonder Kaoru left. That kind of abuse was probably horrible. It was a miracle that Kaoru was still a stable young man even that kind of torture.

"So, does this change the arrangement?" asked Kenshin.

"Possibly," Miyabi frowned. "Knowing what he is doing as Ronin and hearing this will garner him much respect and sympathy with the Sakuraba main family, but I doubt it will change their minds to keeping silent about Aoi-sama and Kaoru-dono's affection for each other. Despite all his strengths and his situation, he is still a ronin and an illegitimate child. I doubt the rest of the Sakuraba family who don't know about what you do in the Tsukitaiyo Family will be as kind."

"So the family will cut him a break, but won't let him marry Aoi-san," Kenshin sighed. "Well, if all goes well, then that might change."

Miyabi blinked at the houseguest. What was he planning?


	6. The American

"How much do you know about Hanabishi?" Kenshin asked Miyabi bluntly after both men had returned to the house. Aoi was busy fretting over Kaoru's fresh wounds while Miyabi was getting tea for herself and Kenshin.

"Not too much I'm afraid," Miyabi shrugged. "I didn't take the time to learn during Aoi's engagement to him. I only learned about his family. Even now I don't know too much beyond his capabilities as Ronin."

"I think I may have learned something as to why he abandoned the Hanabishi Family," Kenshin frowned**;** thinking of what he had seen when Kaoru thought he wasn't looking.

"You do?" asked Miyabi. "I had initially thought that it was because he couldn't stand the pressure, but seeing him now…"

"The boy does well under pressure," Kenshin replied. "No…I think he left because of what his grandfather was doing to him."

"What?" Miyabi blinked.

"Don't tell them that I saw or told you, and this doesn't leave between us," Kenshin whispered, feeling that even the walls have ears. "But, I found scars on Kaoru's back that didn't come from Spirits. Large round scars that looked like they were there long before any Spirit got their hands on him."

"You're not saying-?" Miyabi gasped.

"That old man Hanabishi beat the crap out of his own grandson? Enough to leave scars?" asked Kenshin. "Either he did or someone in the house did, but I can tell you that he knew about it. He's too much of a control freak not to know that this was happening if he didn't do it himself."

"Oh my goodness," Miyabi gasped softly. "Are…are you sure?"

"Medical training was part of the training I undertook before I could properly inherit Shogun," Kenshin answered. "Those scars on his back are too old. A couple of years if I guess right. They're also too dark. Spirits leave white scars. Also the size and shape of them indicate that someone spent a lot of time smashing something blunt into the poor kid's back. Probably a bat, or some kind of long instrument. Hell, it could have been old man Hanabishi's cane for all we know."

Miyabi blanched. No wonder Kaoru left. That kind of abuse was probably horrible. It was a miracle that Kaoru was still a stable young man even that kind of torture.

"So, does this change the arrangement?" asked Kenshin.

"Possibly," Miyabi frowned. "Knowing what he is doing as Ronin and hearing this will garner him much respect and sympathy with the Sakuraba main family, but I doubt it will change their minds to keeping silent about Aoi-sama and Kaoru-dono's affection for each other. Despite all his strengths and his situation, he is still a ronin and an illegitimate child. I doubt the rest of the Sakuraba family who don't know about what you do in the Tsukitaiyo Family will be as kind."

"So the family will cut him a break, but won't let him marry Aoi-san," Kenshin sighed. "Well, if all goes well, then that might change."

Miyabi blinked at the houseguest. What was he planning?

* * *

**AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN**

* * *

The four of them were in the living room. Kenshin was giving an announcement and when he was done he was met with surprised looks from Miyabi, Aoi and Kaoru.

Aoi was finally able to speak up and said, "You wish to train me?"

Kenshin nodded and explained, "Traditionally, the brides of samurais are trained in the use of the naginata and bow and arrow." He added, "Since Aoi-san will be marrying Hanabishi, I feel that is it prudent that she be trained by me."

"Hold on!" Miyabi stood up in protest. "I will not allow it! Aoi-sama shall not be permitted to be trained in the use of weapons!"

"She has to," said Kenshin. "Because of her connection to Hanabishi, she may be put in danger. Thus, she needs a way to defend herself. Luckily, I managed to get the items sent. They are special Anti-Spirit weapons." Kenshin picked up a long rod that was wrapped in cloth and untied the rope around it. The cloth fell away to reveal a naginata with a long and solid shaft along with a sharp blade that shone like polished silver. "This is one of our Anti-Spirit weapons. It can cause great harm to low level spirits." Aoi stared at the weapon as it was placed down on the table. Kenshin then picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows. "The arrowheads here are also made of the same blessed metal and capable of harming Spirits."

"Sugoi," said Aoi in amazement.

"From this day forth, they are yours," said Kenshin.

"Is this REALLY necessary, Kenshin-sensei?" Kaoru asked.

"Are you questioning me?" Kenshin retorted.

"No!" Kaoru gulped.

* * *

"You can't honestly be wishing to train Aoi-sama!" Miyabi cried as she tried to convince Kenshin against his decision.

"My father was the previous Shogun as my uncle was the previous Ronin," Kenshin answered as he got himself some tea. "Do you know how many times they were attacked by the more intelligent Spirits?"

"Those monsters can actually think?" Miyabi asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"It can be surprising," Kenshin nodded. "My mother or my aunt would not be around if they didn't have weapons like the ones I wish for Aoi-san to at least hold."

"Can you honestly see Aoi-sama dealing with the training that Kaoru-dono goes through?" Miyabi asked.

"Oh hell no," Kenshin laughed. "I don't want her to go through extensive training. At the very least I want her to be able to use them without hurting herself. You can hide the archery as a hobby or something. If she wants to use the naginata she'll train using the broom in place of it first. I am not going to be brutal like I am on Hanabishi. Aoi wants to be a housewife and I am not going to change that. I just want to make sure both she and Kaoru will have a long and fruitful marriage."

"How generous of you," Miyabi frowned. She obviously didn't believe it, but he could argue with the best of them. Sakuraba-dono dabbled in archery at home in her spare time. It was something that she learned from her mother-in-law.

* * *

"Aoi-chan, are you sure you want to do this?" Kaoru asked as he sat with Aoi in his room.

"I wish to be by your side, Kaoru-sama," she said firmly, "If I must go through this harsh and rigorous training to be worthy of you, then I will do what I must."

Kaoru had to respect Aoi for her determination, and she seemed serious. Of course, when she put on a serious face, he couldn't help but think of it as cute.

Of course he was worried, though. Would Aoi be able to do it? He didn't have any doubts about it, but he knew that Kenshin would push the girl hard.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," said Kaoru.

"I do." She moved closer and embraced him. Kaoru was still getting used to being held like this after so long since only his mother had embraced him like this before she went away.

* * *

"Here, catch!" Kenshin commanded as he tossed the naginata to Aoi. She caught it but nearly fell over from holding it. "Be careful with that. It's family property."

"H-Hai! Gomen!" Aoi stammered as she regained her balance. For this training she was wearing a white kimono top and a pink hakama.

"Get a firm grip on that. By the time you're done with your training you'll be able to wield that naginata like it's your own arm," said Kenshin. "Now, hand it over." Aoi did as told, without question. "You're still a little green at handling a real one so when you're practicing you'll use this training naginata." It didn't have a real blade at the end since it was completely made of wood. He tossed it to Aoi who caught it. "During your free time I want you to practice as well. Use a broom if you have to."

"Hai, sensei!" Aoi bowed.

"Now, I'm going to show you the basic kata! Pay attention and do as I do!"

"Hai!"

As Kenshin went through the kata with the naginata as Aoi watched, Miyabi and Kaoru stood at the side, watching.

"Well, at least he's taking it easy on her," said Kaoru, relieved that Aoi wasn't going to go through the same strenuous training. Though, it was only a matter of time before Kenshin increased the difficulty level.

"Well, you and Aoi-sama are at different levels. You have 3 months worth of experience fighting and Aoi-sama had never needed to fight before," answered Miyabi with her arms crossed. She was reluctant about this and would later ask Aoi's parents what they thought of their daughter handling weapons.

"Yea," said Kaoru as he watched Aoi go through the same kata and making small errors that Kenshin was correcting. He actually felt touched that Aoi would go to such lengths for him. "Well, I gotta get to class. I'll see you all later." He called to Aoi, "Aoi-chan, I'm heading off now!"

Aoi waved and said, "Please, come back safely."

Of course, knowing his luck, Kaoru may run into a Spirit…or worse.

* * *

After class, Kaoru decided to drop by the photography club's room. What he found was a red haired girl with a ponytail standing on a chair and wearing…what the hell was she wearing! It looked like a short dress modeled after a nurse's outfit.

"Um…who are you?" Kaoru asked. This startled the bespectacled girl and she fell off her chair. "Watch out!"

Kaoru caught her in his arms and the girl stared up at him with awe. "Are you okay?"

"Hai, sempai," she said, nodding. He put her down.

"Hey, Kaoru!" a large and muscular fellow greeted. His name was Suzuki. With him was a shorter and pudgy fellow.

"It looks like you've met out newest member," the pudgy one, Sato, grinned,

"Suzuki-sempai, Sato-sempai," Kaoru blinked. "She's our new member?"

"Hai! Taeko Minazuki! It's nice to meet you!" She bowed, which caused her to show some cleavage. Sato grinned.

"Ano…Minazuki-san," Kaoru said with a sweatdrop. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, it's because Sato-sempai said it's a step in becoming a photographer!" she said happily.

'_She got fooled_ …' Kaoru knew Sato was obsessed with female cosplay idols as Suzuki was obsessed with trains and locomotives.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open and out came a cry of, "EVERYBODY! I'M BACK!"

Kaoru, Sato and Suzuki stared, "TINA!"

The blonde woman smiled. She was wearing cut off jeans shorts, a sleeveless buttoned up white shirt, and sunglasses. She whipped off her sunglasses and immediately jumped upon Kaoru. "Kaoru, I've missed you!"

* * *

"Aoi-sama, what's wrong?" Miyabi asked as she noted Aoi shivering.

"I had this odd chill," answered Aoi as she continued to sweep the floor.

* * *

"Looks like you had fun during your one year trip around the world," said Kaoru. Tina had laid out some photos on the table to show them off.

"That's right, but I missed Japan so here I am!" said Tina. "And I see a new face!" Tina eyed Taeko.

"I'm Taeko Minazuki," Taeko introduced herself. However, when she blinked Tina had gone. "Huh."

Squish! Squish!

Taeko cried out as Tina groped her from behind. "Wow, these are nice, big and soft!" said Tina with a large perverted grin. "Kaoru, you wanna feel them?" This made Taeko's red blush deepen.

"No…I'm good," said Kaoru, sweatdropping. Tina hadn't changed much. She was still a free spirit with little respect for personal space and performed her boob-checks.

"You sure? You don't know what you're missing!" said Tina, smiling.

* * *

Taeko was now dressed in a bunny girl outfit and holding a large stuffed carrot as Sato took shots. Sitting on the grass nearby were Kaoru and Tina.

"God, I missed this…" Tina purred as she laid back on the grass.

"It's good to see you back, Tina," said Kaoru, smiling.

"And it's great to be back! It was exiting to trot around the world but without you guys it just wasn't as fun as it should be," said Tina.

"Well, not all of us were as daring as you," said Kaoru. Tina then stared at him. "What?"

"You've changed, Kaoru," said Tina, smiling as she sat up. She leaned in close. "So, you got a girlfriend or something."

"Tina!" Kaoru cried out at the personal question.

"So, is that a yes or a no?" she teased.

"Tina, knock it off! I don't have a girlfriend!" Kaoru denied. That was partly true. He didn't have a girlfriend. He actually skipped that part and got himself a fiancée instead. He just couldn't tell anyone.

"Wow! A guy like you who's single? That's rare," said Tina.

"Knock it off, Tina," Kaoru frowned.

"You know, I remember when I first met you. You were always so mopy," Tina said as she reminisced.

"Yeah, I know, and then you dragged me over to the photography club," said Kaoru, "Against my will I might add."

"It's not like you regret joining," said Tina. "I mean you're smiling now!"

Kaoru chuckled a bit. It was true. Having friends did help with the pain of loneliness.

"So, did you bring anything weird from your trip?" Kaoru asked.

"Actually…it's in the club room. I was gonna share it with you guys!"

* * *

Aoi was now in the middle of archery training. Kenshin had set a target for Aoi.

"Just aim and fire," Kenshin instructed, "And control your breathing. You don't want to accidentally hit something besides the target."

"Hai, sensei!" Aoi nodded. She notched the arrow and took aim. However, she shivered nervously and let go too quickly.

"OW!"

"Sensei! Gomen!"

* * *

"Ta-dah!" Tina had in her hands a large bottle of booze, but it was purple and glowing.

"It's purple…" began Sato.

"And sparkling too…" added Suzuki as he adjusted his shades.

"What is that?" Kaoru asked fearfully.

"Oh, just something I picked up. They don't sell it here, I can tell you that!" said Tina. "Here, take a sip!" She filled up cups for herself and her friends. "Cheers!" She picked up her cup and downed the concoction before letting out a, "Ah! That hits the spot!"

THUMP!

Tina blinked as she looked at her fellow club members. Sato and Suzuki were out like lights and unconscious. Kaoru was blinking and wobbling slightly. This stuff was strong! No wonder it was such an odd color! Of course, a gulping noise caught both Tina and Kaoru's attention and they turned to see Taeko guzzling down the last of her cup before setting it down with a satisfied sigh.

"Ah! That's good!" Taeko smiled brightly. She looked to Tina and held out her glass. "May I have some more please Semapi?"

"Ah…sure," Tina nodded as she gabbed the bottle. Who was this girl? She looked like she never held a glass of alcohol in her life and she's suddenly guzzling down booze this strong as if it was water.

"Oh boy," Kaoru groaned through his buzz. He could see a drinking game coming up from this. Tina always tried to out-drink everyone in the room. She would take Taeko's resistance to the super-booze as a challenge.

* * *

"I don't think my family ever had this before," Kenshin grumbled as he treated the wound Aoi gave him in archery practice.

"Gomen! Gomen!" Aoi apologized profusely outside Kenshin's room and she and Miyabi waited for him to come outside.

"It's fine. I've taken worse," Kenshin answered while opening the door.

"Feeling tender?" Miyabi asked teasingly.

"Don't you start," Kenshin frowned. "What I don't get is how you got me in the rear when I was facing towards you."

"Gomen!" Aoi bowed deeply.

* * *

"Wooooo!" Tina cheered as she and Kaoru were struggling to head back to his place. Kaoru could barely stand straight and she was nicely buzzed. "Ne Kaoru, you sure this place is near? This is some pricey property."

"It's here…urp," Kaoru slurred. That stuff was strong. Sato, Taeko, and Suzuki were out cold in the club room back at the university. They'd all wake up with killer headaches.

"Well, if you're sure," Tina shrugged.

The pair stumbled around the corner when Kaoru felt a burning sensation in his pocket. Suddenly, his mind cleared up as if the booze wasn't in his blood stream. Looking around in confusion, his head rang a familiar tone.

"Spirit," Kaoru frowned.

"Spirit?" Tina blinked before grinning. "Well, if you're up to more drinking then I'm all for it!"

The sounds of trash cans being toppled over distracted them both. Walking out of a nearby alley was a tubby spirit. It had metal bands around its arms and legs with a round barrel-like torso. Nozzles ran down its arms like hoses and a round mask with a box-like mask and round eyes with glass bolted over them.

It was a Keg Spirit.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kaoru gaped.

"Hey…what's that…?" Tina slurred before passing out.

"Great," Kaoru grumbled. "This is all I need." He placed Tina against the wall before drawing out his dagger. He had no idea why he was no longer drunk but he was sure the Ronin Dagger had something to do with it. As the belt formed, Kaoru called out, "Henshin!" before sliding the blade into the belt to initiate the transformation.

In a flash of silver light he was donned in his suit and stared the Keg Spirit down. Despite its ridiculous appearance, Ronin learnt from a long time ago to never judge a Spirit's strength by its appearance alone.

He was right. The Keg Spirit bellowed and aimed at Kaoru with its nozzles and fired a stream of liquid at the warrior. Ronin got hit in the face and nearly threw up. It smelled horrible, but it didn't look like it was causing damage. It smelt like…old beer.

"Ugh, gross!" Ronin blanched as the Keg Spirit stopped and laughed. His armor was going to reek. It was a good thing it got transported to another realm when unused.

He charged at the Spirit who fired streams of beer at him. Ronin dodged and jumped up to run along the walls before jumping off and performing a tornado kick that slammed against the Keg Spirit's head. The Keg Spirit went tumbling and fell on its back. It rolled about as it tried to get back to its feet.

"This is so easy, it's just not funny," muttered Ronin as he drew his sword. Might as well finish this thing off.

Suddenly, the nozzles came to life and sprayed the fluid along the ground before it clicked its teeth together to make sparks. The sparks hit the fluid and suddenly flames erupted.

"WOAH!" Ronin jumped back.

The Keg Spirit got back to its feet and opened its mouth to reveal that it was a lighter, with a beer nozzle behind it.

"CRAP!" Ronin cried out as the lighter came to life before the nozzle sprayed, causing a stream of flames to fly at Ronin.

"ARGH!" Ronin cried out as the flames hit him. The ground was covered in the stuff and then he recalled Tina. "TINA!" He used his sword to draw the kanji for 'wolf' and summoned his Lunar Wolf familiar. "Protect Tina!" Ronin ordered and the Lunar Wolf did as told before dashing off, being careful not to slip on the ground.

Ronin gritted his teeth. He could feel the burns but didn't let the pain get to him. After all he'd been through he had a large threshold for pain. "Damn you…!"

The Keg Spirit didn't seem concerned as it began stepping closer to Ronin. Its mouth was open to prepare another flamethrower attack. However, as it was prepared to fire, Ronin thrust his sword into the mouth, destroying the lighter and nozzle. The Spirit screeched in pain as it stumbled backwards. Ronin stood up and began pooling energy into his leg, turning it bright silver in the nighttime light. Dashing forward, he leaped into the air, allowing the gravity to bring him back down. His foot collided with the Spirit's face, making it screech in pain. It fell backwards and rolled down the street before exploding. The energy from the explosion reformed into the kanji for seal before vanishing.

Ronin panted as his armor vanished in a flash of light. Now he could feel the pain getting to him. "Kuso…" he passed out.

Tina woke up, while still plastered, and looked to the Lunar Wolf. "Nice doggie…" she pet the thing without realizing it was covered in armor. "Huh?" She blinked. "Kaoru?" She stood up. "Why are you sleeping there?" She stood up, wobbly, and then grabbed Kaoru's arm. "Come on, Kaoru. Time to get you home." She dragged him along, acting as it nothing had happened.

* * *

Aoi had been worried sick since Kaoru hadn't returned to have dinner the previous night. However, her fears were quelled when Kenshin told her he saw Kaoru asleep in his room. This made Aoi very relieved. She didn't suspect anything wrong at all and thought that Kaoru merely forgot about dinner and went straight to bed. She reminded herself to make a big portion for Kaoru's breakfast when he woke up.

She came into his room and smiled when she saw Kaoru in his futon. Smiling impishly, she pulled the covers back and then gawk at the other person sleeping next to Kaoru and hugging him like a teddy bear.

"Um…Kaoru…you were great last night…" the Caucasian murmured in her sleep.

This, of course, caused Aoi to scream.

"EEEEEEEYYYYAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Owwww," Kaoru groaned as he was roused into consciousness. Looking up, he saw Aoi looking down in horror. Confused as to why she looked so distressed, he checked himself for oddities. To his surprise, he found Tina with her arms wrapped around him. "AHHHHHHHH!"

Soon after, Kenshin and Miyabi burst into the door. Both of them took one look at the scene, and promptly had their own reactions to the scene.

"Kaoru-dono, who is this woman?" Miyabi frowned deeply.

Tina yawned and let go of Kaoru before stretching herself. She rubbed her eyes and noted the people around them. She then greeted them, "Hi."

"Everyone, this is Tina Foster, a classmate of mine," introduced Kaoru.

"Aw…don't be like that, Kaoru," grinned Tina. "After what we did last night I should be more than a friend."

"Last night…?" Aoi paled.

"It's not like that! Nothing happened!" Kaoru cried out in denial.

"What exactly happened?" Miyabi asked sternly.

"Well, Kaoru here can't hold his liquor, so I had to drag him here after getting the address," said Tina. "By the way, who are you guys?"

"Kenshin Tsukitaiyo, a resident."

"I'm Miyabi Kagurazaki, the house manager."

"I'm Aoi…Kaoru-sama's fian…" she paused when she saw Miyabi shaking her head. "Landlord."

"Really? You're a cutie!" Tina extended her hand to shake and Aoi was about to take it when suddenly Tina's hand touched Aoi's chest. The kimono-clad girl shrieked and covered her chest with her hands. Miyabi looked livid.

"What are you doing!" Miyabi shouted.

"Oh, just my usual greeting," said Tina. "Now, it's your turn!" Tina was about to grope Miyabi when Kaoru grabbed her to stop her from doing something stupid.

"Tina, cut that out!" Kaoru cried.

"Oh, Kaoru, I didn't know you liked it so rough!" she teased. Kaoru blushed. Tina then stopped struggling. "Hey, can I stay here?" Everyone stared. "Well, I just got back from an around the world trip and now I don't have a place to live, so can I?"

"Absolutely not!" Miyabi snapped.

"Oh, then, sorry to bother you," said Tina as she stood at the door, depressed. She closed it.

"Ano…Miyabi-san, maybe we can let her stay?" Kaoru suggested. "She's a friend of mine and she really has no place to go."

"I don't know, Kaoru-dono. She's uncouth and impolite," Miyabi shook her head.

"Well, that's just how the way she is," said Kaoru. "Can't you find it in your heart to let her stay?"

Aoi joined in, "Please, Miyabi-san. If she's a friend of Kaoru-sama's then she can't be a bad person."

Miyabi sighed. She was outnumbered since Kenshin didn't care either way. "OK, fine! She can stay!"

The door slid open and Tina jumped in. "WOW! REALLY! THANKS!" She then glomped onto Miyabi and grabbed her boobs. "Hey, nice and big!"

"TINA-SAN, GET OFF ME!"

* * *

As the group went to the main house for breakfast, Kaoru noticed Kenshin limping. "What's wrong, Kenshin-sensei?"

Kenshin muttered, "I don't want to talk about it." He sniffed Kaoru. "Why do you smell like beer past its prime?"

"I don't want to talk about it," retorted Kaoru.

* * *

Everyone was at the table for breakfast, which Tina was now involved in. Of course, the blonde was chowing down like there was no tomorrow. Everyone was staring at her as she ate wildly.

"Wow! This is awesome!" Tina cheered. "Landlord! You're an incredible cook!"

"Oh, thank you," Aoi blushed, happy for the compliment.

"Yeah, I know what will make it better though," Tina grinned as she produced a bottle of booze, actually, it was the same booze the photography club was defeated by yesterday.

"Isn't it early for that?" asked Kaoru.

"Anytime is good for good booze!" Tina smiled as she began pouring cups. "Come on, don't be shy!"

"Don't," Kaoru warned. "That stuff is way too strong for a normal person."

"I appreciate the concern, but I can hold my liquor. It can't be that bad," said Miyabi as she took a cup.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Miyabi-san?" asked Kaoru. Kenshin picked up a cup too. "Kenshin-sensei?"

"I can hold my liquor too," said Kenshin confidently. "Bottom's up."

Both Miyabi and Kenshin chugged down their glasses.

THUMP!

Miyabi passed out.

"Miyabi-san!" Aoi cried.

"I know that was going to happen…" Kaoru grimaced.

"Ha ha!" Tina laughed. "Strong, ain't it?"

"It is," Kenshin admitted. "But you'd be surprised how powerful some of the stuff I've drunk has been. This is pretty high up there."

"Heh, care for another glass?" Tina asked with a playful smirk.

"Bring it on," Kenshin smirked.

"You know, this reminds me of this whacked out dream I had last night," Tina spoke as she sipped the newest glass of booze. "I dreamed that Kaoru turned into this silver armored guy who fought a monster."

Kaoru began to choke on his food while Kenshin sent him a glare.

"It was pretty cool," Tina grinned. "Man, maybe I should have the cosplayer club make a costume like it. We could do a poster campaign for profit!"

* * *

"Ugh," Kaoru groaned as he stumbled through the house in a daze. Tina insisted in another drinking game between herself and everyone there. Of course, Miyabi was suffering a terrible hangover and Aoi was still sleeping it off. Kenshin was walking around as if nothing happened.

"How can you still be sober?" Kaoru asked his teacher.

"Years of practice," Kenshin answered. "And having the Shogun Dagger helps to clear the mind once you learn how. I bet it made you sober just in time to deal with that Spirit."

"Yes, it saved my life," agreed Kaoru.

"You were careless, Hanabishi," reminded Kenshin. "It's a good thing your gaijin friend thinks it's a dream."

"She's not a gaijin," Kaoru defended.

"She's American," Kenshin rebutted.

"But she was raised here for most of her life," Kaoru added.

"I see," Kenshin nodded. "Forgive me for my slur."

Kaoru nodded. "I sure hope Aoi-chan will recover soon."

"I think she's more distressed over you and Tina," Kenshin stated.

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked.

"This Tina person knows you more than Aoi-san does," Kenshin told Kaoru. "Maybe she feels that you've neglected to tell her much of your life."

"Tina doesn't know about half of my life, either," Kaoru retorted.

"I'm talking about the happy times. You don't speak to Aoi-san about those," he added.

"Yes, I know, but well I haven't had much time and…"

"Excuses," Kenshin interrupted. "Anyway, you better be ready for some harsh training tomorrow morning because you missed it."

"I know…"

Kenshin reminded, "And keep the fact you you're Ronin a secret. Tina-san nearly found out about it. It was a good thing she thought it was just a dream concocted by that drink of hers."

"I don't know if I can keep this a secret from her for long…" Kaoru responded. "She can be pretty sharp when she wants to."

Kenshin took Kaoru's words to heart. Still, Tina would need to be kept in the dark about the Riders and Spirits. He didn't trust her to keep a secret this big despite being a friend of Kaoru's. Now that she was living with them, Kenshin needed to be discreet about his training with Kaoru for the sake of secrecy.

"Look, figure something out. In the meantime you can talk with Aoi-san some more and get to know each other more deeply. She's already so infatuated with you and I doubt anything can change that," said Kenshin.

"Alright, I will. I guess I've neglected to tell Aoi-chan much about my past, huh?" Kaoru said.

"You've shared with her the harsher parts of your past, now it's time to tell her about the happier times. She wants to know you from all sides, not just one. To her you're more than you ever saw yourself to be."

"Thank, sensei," Kaoru smiled.

"You're welcome, now get some sleep. You're going to need to rest up for tomorrow."

"What about Tina-san?" asked Kaoru.

"I'll take her into the empty room in the servant's quarters. After all she is a resident, isn't she?" Kenshin answered.

* * *

A/N: And NOW Tina joins the cast of characters. Boy, is she going to be a handful.


	7. The Maid

"Ugh," Kaoru groaned as he stumbled through the house in a daze. Tina insisted in another drinking game between herself and everyone there. Of course, Miyabi was suffering a terrible hangover and Aoi was still sleeping it off. Kenshin was walking around as if nothing happened.

"How can you still be sober?" Kaoru asked his teacher.

"Years of practice," Kenshin answered. "And having the Shogun Dagger helps to clear the mind once you learn how. I bet it made you sober just in time to deal with that Spirit."

"Yes, it saved my life," agreed Kaoru.

"You were careless, Hanabishi," reminded Kenshin. "It's a good thing your gaijin friend thinks it's a dream."

"She's not a gaijin," Kaoru defended.

"She's American," Kenshin rebutted.

"But she was born and raised here," Kaoru added.

"I see," Kenshin nodded. "Forgive me for my slur."

Kaoru nodded. "I sure hope Aoi-chan will recover soon."

"I think she's more distressed over you and Tina," Kenshin stated.

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked.

"This Tina person knows you more than Aoi-san does," Kenshin told Kaoru. "Maybe she feels that you've neglected to tell her much of your life."

"Tina doesn't know about half of my life, either," Kaoru retorted.

"I'm talking about the happy times. You don't speak to Aoi-san about those," he added.

"Yes, I know, but well I haven't had much time and…"

"Excuses," Kenshin interrupted. "Anyway, you better be ready for some harsh training tomorrow morning because you missed it."

"I know…"

Kenshin reminded, "And keep the fact you you're Ronin a secret. Tina-san nearly found out about it. It was a good thing she thought it was just a dream concocted by that drink of hers."

"I don't know if I can keep this a secret from her for long…" Kaoru responded. "She can be pretty sharp when she wants to."

Kenshin took Kaoru's words to heart. Still, Tina would need to be kept in the dark about the Riders and Spirits. He didn't trust her to keep a secret this big despite being a friend of Kaoru's. Now that she was living with them, Kenshin needed to be discreet about his training with Kaoru for the sake of secrecy.

"Look, figure something out. In the meantime you can talk with Aoi-san some more and get to know each other more deeply. She's already so infatuated with you and I doubt anything can change that," said Kenshin.

"Alright, I will. I guess I've neglected to tell Aoi-chan much about my past, huh?" Kaoru said.

"You've shared with her the harsher parts of your past, now it's time to tell her about the happier times. She wants to know you from all sides, not just one. To her you're more than you ever saw yourself to be."

"Thank, sensei," Kaoru smiled.

"You're welcome, now get some sleep. You're going to need to rest up for tomorrow."

"What about Tina-san?" asked Kaoru.

"I'll take her into the empty room in the servant's quarters. After all she is a resident, isn't she?" Kenshin answered.

* * *

**AI YORI AOSHI: KAMEN RIDER RONIN**

* * *

The summer night was quiet at the Sakuraba house. Kaoru yawned as he leaned over his homework. Between fighting Spirits with Kenshin, dealing with Tina's carefree games, and just finding any time to spend with Aoi, Kaoru was finding himself stretched rather thin. He had to bust his butt to get his homework done in time to his usual standards before it got too late and he was forced to go to sleep late only to be woken up by Kenshin in his usual way i.e. a bucket of cold water.

"Ahh, no one said being a hero was easy," Kaoru muttered to himself.

Continuing his work, he didn't notice a feminine hand reach over and snag his can of tea before taking it away. Of course, he did notice when someone's body leaned against his back with a rather pronounced pair of breasts pressing against him. "Bwah!" Kaoru cried in shock as he turned around to face his sudden houseguest.

"Ahhh!" the catty face of Tina sighed as she gulped the last of the tea down. She was wearing apparently nothing save for an oversized black shirt and her house slippers. Her hair was done up in a ponytail as well. "Nothing like good tea right after a hot bath!"

"T-Tina!" Kaoru cried out. "At least knock before you come barging into my room!"

"Oh? Kaoru, it's not like we're strangers," Tina smiled in her catty way before she hugged the boy around the neck and pressed against his back. "Come on Kaoru. Let's be friendly."

The poor boy blushed at the close proximity of his foreign friend. She always loved to play with him like this but it just wasn't funny. She did it for kicks and freaked him out more often than not. Just why was she so clingy to him?

In truth, Tina actually harbored deep feeling for Kaoru, but she was too afraid to admit them since she didn't want to ruin their friendship. Still, being able to spend time with Kaoru like this was good enough for her. She swore to herself to one day admit her feeling to Kaoru…one day.

"Tina, I'm busy!" said Kaoru. "Can't you bug somebody else?"

"Don't you like me anymore?" she pouted.

That was when Aoi came in and said, "Excuse me, Kaoru-sama, but-" She froze at the doorway when she witnessed how close Tina and Kaoru were. Her face turned a bright red before she began to sputter, "F-F-Forgive me, it looks like I came at a bad time!"

"Aoi-chan, wait!" Kaoru called. He didn't need an incident like this so late in the evening. "It's not what it looks like! It's just Tina playing."

"Oh." Aoi breathed a sigh of relief. She still felt like her place with Kaoru was threatened by Tina since she knew him so well now rather than when he was little like the shy Sakuraba did.

"What did you want to call me for?" Kaoru asked.

"Kenshin-san wishes to see you for another training session," said Aoi.

"Tell him I'm busy with homework," Kaoru replied, hoping that Kenshin would just accept the answer and leave him be for the night.

"He knew you'd say that so he wrote this," said Aoi as she approached Kaoru and handed him a folded sheet of paper. Kaoru took it, unfolded it, and scanned it before going pale. He folded the paper as Tina stared curiously.

"Tell him I'll be there!" said Kaoru quickly. Aoi nodded before leaving.

"Say, Kaoru, why are you training so hard in kendo?" asked Tina. Before she left on her trip, she never knew Kaoru to be interested in any sports. Seeing him so focused on physical fitness was a twist, but she definitely could get used to seeing a more buff Kaoru.

"It's important that I'm able to defend myself and others," answered Kaoru, sounding uncharacteristically stoic. That wasn't really a lie. He just wasn't giving her all the details. Such details about his life as Ronin were better for her in the long run. The less she knew the better.

"Wow, so you're going to try and be like a samurai and stuff?" said Tina before she started doing sword-swinging motions.

"You…could say that."

* * *

"You're late," said Kenshin as Kaoru came out to see him for training. "Now, drop and give me 50."

"Are you serious?" asked Kaoru.

"You want to make it 100?" Kenshin glared.

Kaoru groaned and started on his pushups. Of course, Kenshin, being the cruel taskmaster that he was, also had his foot on Kaoru's back to add weight and have Kaoru give more effort. "Hurry it up!"

After the pushups, Kenshin and Kaoru sparred. So far, Kaoru's skills had improved under Kenshin's tutelage. Aoi was also improving in her handling of the naginata as well as the bow and arrow. She didn't miss the target anymore but she has yet to make a bull's-eye. Also, she hid it well, saying it was a hobby when Tina asked about the archery practice. Miyabi backed up her claim by explaining that Aoi's mother was likewise skilled in archery. The naginata thing was harder to explain so Aoi had to practice when she made sure their foreign friend wasn't looking. Sometimes she even practiced with her broom, pretending it was her naginata.

Miyabi and Kenshin also got along pretty well since they possessed similar roles as caretakers for their charges. They would often share coffee in the mornings or tea in the evenings as they chatted about things. Kenshin even got along with Tina and they could be seen drinking and chatting whenever Tina would get her hands on strong booze. Tina would pass out before Kenshin did and the samurai was amused by how she acted when she was drunk. Of course, Tina would swear she would beat him eventually.

* * *

Outside, a sniffling figure was walking to the Sakuraba Mansion. An aura of depression and sadness was surrounding her and it was rather...intense. One had to wonder why she wasn't bawling at the moment from it all. Looking around the property, she spied some familiar faces through her glasses. Heaving a sigh, she headed towards the front door, hoping to find some friends who could help.

She didn't know that she was being followed. Followed by something less than friendly.

* * *

Kenshin disarmed Kaoru and had the tip of his shinai (bamboo sword) pointed at his student's throat. Kaoru gulped as he felt the top press against his Adam's apple with Kenshin saying in a warning tone, "Keep a firm grip on your sword."

"Hai, sensei," nodded Kaoru, "But I sensed something."

"I know," said Kenshin. "I sensed it too."

"Should we check it out?"

"Yes."

* * *

Monsters were merely a stuff of fantasy and fairytales, so Taeko never expected to see one coming at her. Being incredibly clumsy was usually a bad thing for her but now it was saving her life. She'd missed a fatal swipe from the thing's claws by tripping on her own feet but now she was wracked with fear as it came at her.

The thing that was coming at her resembled a huge spider with a humanoid body from the waist up connected to where the spider's head would be. It also possessed a pair of long arms with long fingers tipped with claws. It's head was skeletal in appearance with eight eye holes, giving the appearance of a mask. Taeko was really not taking notice, but the creature itself seemed to havepins for spider-like legs which were thick and somehow connected to its flesh. The Pin Spirit released a shriek and tried to attack her again, but Taeko continued to run as fast as she could, this time without tripping. Of course, she had lost her glasses during the first tumble so now she was as blind as a bat as she tried to get away.

Again she tripped and this time it was bad since the creature was gaining on her. She was going to die! She just knew it!

Suddenly, she heard the sound of engines roaring before a pair of motorbikes sped past her and rammed straight into the monster.

"Huh?" Taeko blinked as she saw her two rescuers. Both were donned in brilliant armor which shone in the moonlight. One was pure silver while the other was a blazing gold. They were blurry, but she could still make out the shine of their suits.

"Go!" the gold figure barked to Taeko.

The terrified redhead absently nodded before she got up and began running for the house. Every so often, she would look back to see what was happening. Unfortunately, she always tripped over something when she did so it made seeing the action hard. At best she would see flashes of gold or silver erupt from the shadows. As she managed to reach the front door of the mansion itself, she heard a screech which would haunt her forever. Then, there was light...

"TSUKUYOMI!"

"AMATERASU!"

Taeko tumbled over as light blinded her and she heard the death scream of the beast.

Ronin and Shogun had slain the beast and the Wolf Samurai gave a sigh, "That…was close." He then realized something. He recognized the girl that the Spirit had been hunting. He should, she was a member of his club at school! "Taeko-san!"

"You know that girl?" Shogun commented.

"She's a member of my Photography Club and my kohai," Ronin answered. "I hope she's alright."

"She is," said Shogun confidently. He then noticed a pair of glasses with cracked lenses and picked them up, "Though, I think she may have trouble seeing where she is going without these."

"Then we better go check on her," said Ronin. Knowing how clumsy Taeko was, she might have gotten lost out in the woods somewhere.

* * *

Taeko managed to find the front door and began to ring the doorbell frantically. The one to answer was Aoi. She recognized the girl from some of the photos Tina and Kaoru had. "Miss, what's wrong?" Aoi asked the redhead.

"Oh, thank you!" Taeko cried. She lunged and hugged the stunned woman desperately. "Something attacked me! It was horrible!"

'_Spirit_,' thought Aoi. "Please, come inside so you may calm yourself."

"Thank you," said Taeko, sighing in relief. "Thank you so much…" She was relieved. She had always loved the supernatural but to be almost killed by a supernatural creature had really shaken her up.

* * *

When Kaoru and Kenshin returned home after failing to track Taeko, they were surprised to see the girl sitting in the living room.

"Taeko-san?" blinked Kaoru. She was here the whole time?

"Hanabishi-sempai, is that you?" Taeko asked as she squinted her eyes.

"Yes," Kaoru nodded as he stepped closer to her. They were all in the living room with Miyabi being the only one not in attendance. She was busy with her paperwork and didn't hear the commotion with the redhead coming inside. "We heard some commotion outside so Sensei and I went to check it out. All we found are a pair of glasses. I'll be they're yours."

"Oh, thank you!" Taeko smiled as she took the black framed glasses back. However, as she did so she noticed the crack running through the lens. "Oh…now I'll have to get the lens repaired…-sniff-…I…I don't think I can afford it."

"What do you mean?" asked Kaoru with some confusion.

"Tae-chan got fired," Tina sighed sadly. "She worked as a live-in maid at her old place. So she lost her house when she lost her job."

"Oh dear," Aoi spoke softly.

"Why were you fired?" asked Kenshin.

"Oh, it's simply because I'm less than coordinated," answered Taeko.

'_Clumsy_,' Kenshin translated in his mind.

"Oh, I have a great idea!" Tina exclaimed, "Tae-chan can help with all the chores around here!"

Aoi, Kaoru and Kenshin blinked.

"I mean, Landlady-san has to do everything around here so why not the extra help? Plus, Tae-chan here is an experienced maid so she's perfect for the job!" added Tina.

Taeko blushed at the praise and said, "I'm not all that good, really."

"I think we need to ask Miyabi-san about this first," said Aoi. While the extra help would be nice, she still needed her guardian's permission.

"And I think you need some new glasses as well," added Kenshin. '_If she was clumsy before when she was wearing glasses, she'd be worse without them._'

"Oh, yes, I should,' agreed Taeko. "Luckily, I always carry a spare pair with me." She took out a case and opened it up to put the new pair on.

"You had a new pair and you stumbled all the way here?" asked Kenshin incredulously.

"Oh, it slipped my mind until just a minute ago," said Taeko, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

* * *

Since it was late, Taeko was going to be sleeping in a spare room in the servants' quarters. At the moment, Kaoru, Aoi, and Kenshin were in Miyabi's office to discuss about Taeko.

"A tenant and a live-in maid?" Miyabi asked.

"She has experience," Kaoru added, "And from what I can tell she's a really hard worker."

"She's just really clumsy," added Kenshin. "And considering how big the place is, Aoi-san might need the help."

Miyabi wasn't sure if hiring Taeko would be a good idea. She, however, trusted Kenshin's judgement. "We shall see. I give her a week. However…" she eyed both Kaoru and Kenshin, "Can you promise to hide your activities from her?"

"I think we can, thought I have doubts," said Kenshin. "Her family name is Minazuki and from what I recall that family is very sensitive to the paranormal…"

"Really?" asked Kaoru curiously. He really couldn't see Taeko as some kind of mystical priestess. She confessed to loving the supernatural as the invasive 'questionnaire' that Sato tricked her into filling out implied, but she didn't seem to be the type to do anything more than appreciate it.

"The Minazuki family has a long history of dealing with the paranormal," explained Kenshin. "In fact some of the greatest priests and mikos come from that clan." He paused before adding, "But I doubt we have anything to fear from Minazuki-san finding out about our nightly routine."

"That is good," said Miyabi, having faith in Kenshin. "It's getting hard to keep a secret with all these people here."

"I expect we'll be having more tenants soon," said Kenshin.

"What makes you say that?" asked Miyabi.

"Common sense," he answered. "I mean look at this place. It's a mansion. OK, so the tenants can't be in the main building after ten at night but aside from that they can hang out in a mansion, not to mention Aoi-san is a great cook."

"Pretty good reasons to stay," agreed Kaoru. He could certainly vouch for Aoi's cooking. He hadn't tasted anything so good since he lived with the Hanabishis.

* * *

So it became official, Taeko would be given a trial period to see if she would be what Miyabi was looking for in a maid for the building. Taeko was of course overjoyed at the opportunity and thanked both Miyabi and Aoi profusely. Soon enough, she was donned in a cute maid uniform and set to work with the tasks that Miyabi had set out before. Since breakfast had just ended, Taeko went to work on the dishes. Cleaning them hadn't brought any problems, but…

"Uhh, I don't think that's a good idea, Taeko-san," Kaoru said, gulping, as he saw what Taeko tried to do. Taeko was done cleaning dishes and was in the process of putting them all away. The only thing that worried Kaoru was that Taeko was trying to put almost all of them away at once.

"D-don't worry, Hanabishi-sempai. I've done this before," Taeko said as she stacked the plates together in a hazardous way. "Okay now all I have to do-eek!" She suddenly shrieked as she tripped and let go of the plates.

Kaoru jumped and manage to get all the plates before they hit the floor.

"Excuse me, Kaoru-sama but..." Aoi stopped to see Kaoru balancing on one foot as he had plates in both his hands, on his head and on his other foot that was raised behind him "What an amazing trick!" Aoi cheered, clapping with Taeko slowly getting up

"Help." Kaoru pleaded as he tried to keep the plates from dropping.

* * *

4 Days Later…

"I want her gone," said Miyabi. She was in her office with Kaoru and Kenshin. Four days into Taeko's trial period and it wasn't looking good for the bespectacled girl.

"What? But it hasn't been a week!" Kaoru protested.

Miyabi reached under her desk and pulled out what appeared to be a blouse fit for a small doll.

"What is that?" Kenshin asked. He never pegged the older woman as the type who would cling to her childhood by collecting dolls. Not that there was anything wrong with a hobby, but he never would have guessed.

"That was one of my blouses after Taeko-san put it in the wash," said Miyabi. "It was clearly labeled as 'dry-clean only'."

"Was that the time she put too much detergent and flooded the laundry room with soap and water?" asked Kaoru. He remembered the suds and mess that Taeko had created by accident when she misread the detergent instructions.

"Miraculously, no," said Miyabi. "This was just yesterday."

"So, she made a tiny mistake," said Kaoru. Miyabi glared at the mention of 'tiny' since her blouse was tiny now. "Uh…"

"Then there was that miso soup she prepared a few days ago," said Miyabi.

"Oh, the one with the obvious 'crunch'," Kenshin recalled. The food was edible, but Taeko had put too much of the extra ingredients into it and not enough actual miso. The end result was a soup that had to be chewed instead of sipped.

"Then the time she was replacing a light bulb and it fell on me," Miyabi continued. The light bulb had slipped out of Taeko's hand and hit Miyabi in the face. Fortunately, it had not shattered but it still ticked her off. "And let us not forget her attempt at making dinner."

"She's creative," said Kenshin.

"But chocolate does not fit everything," Miyabi seethed. "And then Aoi-sama has to clean up her messes. It's just disgraceful. That's why I want her out and we can't afford to keep her around."

"But she has no other place to go," argued Kaoru.

"That is not my problem," said Miyabi sternly.

"But Tina likes her," insisted Kaoru.

"Tina-san likes anybody she can grope," she countered.

"You have a point there," Kaoru relented.

"And also she nearly caught you two during your private training sessions," said Miyabi. "The ones involving you-know-what."

Kenshin and Kaoru knew she was referring to the Ronin and Shogun Daggers. They were mystical and Taeko had nearly caught them using the magical properties of the daggers. It was almost like every time they intended to use them, Taeko was drawn in like a homing beacon. While she apparently didn't seem to have any training like her family would have had in the past, the gift of the Minazuki seemed to be within her just the same.

"I did mention that her family is very spiritually sensitive," reminded Kenshin.

"I'm just surprised she hasn't burnt the house down and if we keep her any longer that will soon change," said Miyabi. She looked to Kenshin, "I'm not surprised that Kaoru-dono wants to keep her around. He is a softie." Kaoru seemed slightly offended at that, "But you…"

"I like her determination," said Kenshin. Frankly, he thought the reason Taeko screwed up so often was because she was trying to do too much at once. Mix in the workload she tried to take on with her natural clumsiness and it was a recipe for disaster. Kenshin intended to have words with the bespectacled girl if Miyabi saw fit to give her a second chance.

"Even if she is determined, she's not very skilled at her job. I now realize why she got fired from her last one," said Miyabi.

"But she's passionate. You don't see that kind of passion in anyone," said Kenshin. "Isn't that right, Kaoru?"

"Yes, and Taeko-san told me that her mother was a maid too and Taeko-san wants to be just like her," said Kaoru. "I think she just wants to honor her mother in some way."

Miyabi sighed. These two men had a point. A rather emotional and compassionate point, but a point nonetheless and as tough as Miyabi was, she wasn't made of stone. Not after hearing a reason like Taeko's. "Alright, she has three more days and then she's gone and my decision will be final. She has three more days to prove herself."

"Thank you, Miyabi-san," said Kaoru. The door opened and Aoi poked her head in.

"Ah, Aoi-sama," said Miyabi. "What brings you here?"

"It's time for Kaoru-sama's calligraphy lesson," she said. "I hope I am not disturbing anyone."

"No, you're not," said Miyabi.

* * *

Taeko focused as she vacuumed the floor. She was being very, very, VERY helpful in cleaning the place.

"Can't blow it, can't blow it, can't blow it," she chanted repeatedly unaware of the strings that were sliding through the door and towards her.

* * *

Aoi smiled as Kaoru put the brush down. "That's very good, Kaoru-sama. You're progressing very well."

"Thanks to you," said Kaoru. It'd been a long time since he did calligraphy. It wasn't exactly something he enjoyed and his grandfather (the old bastard) had practically forced him into it. However, Kenshin had emphasized that Kaoru needed practice with his calligraphy. He had the basics down since he could use the Ronin Dagger to write in the air and materialize what was being written but he needed to be perfect. Aoi, fortunately and happily, volunteered.

Aoi scooted closer, admiring her fiancé's work. He'd written her name. She looked up and noticed how close they were sitting together. Aoi looked away, blushing, as did Kaoru.

Aoi had prepared almost all her life to become Kaoru's wife and was determined since she'd loved him since their childhood. Even when she'd been told the engagement had been broken, she would not give up. She even tracked him down to know the truth. Kaoru, on the other hand, had either forgotten or had not been aware of the engagement in the first place and even rejected Aoi when he thought she'd been sent by the Hanabishis to get him back. However, that had been proven false and he'd apologized for doubting the young woman with him.

She looked so fragile, but she still had the strength to defy her family and come to him. She found her strength in him and he'd found someone to…love?

Would that be too early? He knew he cared about her but did he love her? He had not rejected the idea of the engagement and even her mother approved now since he was the holder of the Ronin Dagger. Still, what about her father? What would he say?

Would Kaoru even care? If her father got between them then he would fight but wouldn't that hurt Aoi as well?

"Kaoru-sama, what's wrong?" she asked. "You look troubled."

"I'm fine," said Kaoru. It's just. He grunted as he felt the familiar pounding in his head, like a pulse. Even the Ronin Dagger was pulsing. "A Spirit," he detected. He pinpointed it, "IT'S ON THE GROUNDS!"

"WHAT!" gasped Aoi.

* * *

CRASH!

Shogun was sent flying by the blow and he went tumbling. He groaned as he picked himself back up and shook his head. "Alright, not my best performance." He stared up at his opponent. "And how am I supposed to fight _this_?"

"Sensei!" Ronin shouted as he exited the mansion. "Where's the Spirit?" He ran towards Shogun He blinked in confusion, "Taeko-san?"

Yes, he was looking at Taeko, the clumsy redhead who seemed to make a mess more often than she was able to clean them up just somehow managed to send Ronin's sensei flying with naught but a pole-arm in her hands. Oddly enough, she had no emotion on her face and instead seemed as emotionless as a doll.

Rather than be surprised at Ronin's appearance,Taeko stared at him blankly and attacked.

"WOAH!" Ronin shouted as Taeko raised a pole-arm that had a hammer on one end and an axe-blade on the opposite end. He nearly got crushed when she used the hammer end on him.

"Taeko-san!" She didn't response. "Sensei, what's going on?" Ronin uttered in confusion. From what he'd seen Taeko was a clumsy girl but now she was fighting like a pro.

"She's being controlled," said Shogun. "Spirit possession, I believe."

"OK, not good," said Ronin.

"**Heh, heh, heh!**" Both Riders turned to see someone in the tree. It was a puppet-like monster with hands that looked like a mess of strings. It was wearing a comical outfit. Its head bore the resemblance to the infamous Mr. Punch from 'Punch and Judy'. "**Hello Shogun and Ronin. My name is Puppet Spirit.**"

"It can talk!" Ronin shouted, surprised. Up until now, most of the Spirits he'd seen were mindless monsters.

"**Of course! I do admit that my species lacks the proper ability of speech, but there are those among us who are gifted with the ability of speech**," the Puppet Spirit said, smiling darkly, "**And unlike my compatriots, I don't like facing my opponents head on. I prefer forcing others to fight for me!**"

"So you took control of this girl!" Shogun snapped

"**I confess, YES!**" The Puppet Spirit laughed sinisterly.

"I knew I should've set up a barrier," mumbled Shogun, but he'd been so busy and no Spirits had dared to attack before.

"**And since you value her life, you will not be able to go all out!**" boasted the Puppet Spirit. "**And then you will die and the legacy of Ronin and Shogun will end!**" The Puppet Spirit then commanded, lifting his fingers up and moving them about, "**Now, finish them my puppet!**"

Taeko jumped at the two and brought her weapon down, smashing it to the ground with enough force to cause a crater as Shogun and Ronin dodged out of the way.

"Sensei, how do we fight this?" asked Ronin.

"You deal with the girl," said Shogun. "I'll deal with the puppeteer here."

Ronin nodded, not arguing with the Tsukitaiyo head as he charged at the Puppet Spirit but then his advance was blocked by two figures. "Miyabi-san? Tina-san?"

"**Oh, I took control of these two as well**," said the Puppet Spirit. Tina and Miyabi, like Taeko, wore blank expressions on their faces.

Ronin, meanwhile, was dodging and blocking as he defended himself from Taeko's attacks. She was definitely strong while under the Spirit's control and a blow sent him staggering back. He spotted Tina and Miyabi, also under the Puppet Spirit's control. "Not a good night."

The Puppet Spirit laughed and then it suddenly howled out in pain. Shogun and Ronin blinked and saw the Puppet Spirit reaching behind its back and pulling out an arrow. Enraged, the monstrous puppet turned around to see who had shot at it, but received a second arrow to the chest. Thanks to the holy properties of the arrowheads, they did considerable damage and in the case of the second arrow actually knocked the Puppet Spirit out of the tree.

Ronin wondered where the arrows had come from and then spotted Aoi near the entrance of the mansion. She was gripping a bow and had a quiver of arrows strapped to her with her sleeves folded up. She had another arrow notched and pulled the bowstring taut.

"Aoi-chan…" Kaoru was amazed. She had shot two arrows and they had hit their mark. That in itself was surprising since most of Aoi's shots in practice were grazing blows or hit far outside of the centre, indicating that her aim needed some work.

"**Damn bitch!**" the Puppet Spirit hissed and then it launched its strings at her.

SLICE!

A single swing from Ronin had cut the strings in half. The Puppet Spirit then realized that the girl had only been a distraction. The Puppet Spirit felt heat emanating nearby and shakily turned its eyes towards Shogun who approached it. The Shogun Katana was in his hand and held up straight as the image of the sun appeared behind him, blazing hotly. The blade of the Shogun Katana also began to ignite as Shogun prepared the finishing blow.

The Puppet Spirit prepared to counter his move but Ronin was quick to counter the Spirit's counter as well as he wrote using the tip of his sword. The Kanji for 'Wrap' appeared and then it flew towards the Puppet Spirit. All of a sudden, its strings wrapped around it instead, effectively immobilizing it.

"AMATERASU!"

A downward swing from Shogun's sword sliced the Spirit in half and it exploded in a blaze, leaving behind the Kanji for 'Seal' before it faded away.

* * *

After the Spirit had been dealt with and Miyabi, Taeko and Tina had been put to bed, Kenshin and Kaoru spent the rest of the evening setting up a protective barrier around the mansion. It was something Kenshin had neglected to do and had not been able to do until Kaoru fully mastered his abilities. After all, a proper barrier needed to be created by them.

Fortunately, Kaoru's practice with calligraphy allowed him to write the proper Kanji for the barrier and he and Kenshin worked together in fortifying the defense.

Kenshin stated, "You know I'm impressed with Aoi-san. She might be a novice but she was still able to shoot two arrows and hit her target, especially at night."

"Yes, she really is amazing," Kaoru agreed. She had looked so determined to protect him. '_She must really love me_.' He asked, "Will they remember what happened?"

"They'll likely think it was all some kind of dream," said Kenshin. "I wouldn't put too much thought into it. They were in a trance so the likelihood of them remembering being controlled by a Spirit is highly unlikely."

"That's good." There were some questions Kaoru didn't want to answer right now.

* * *

Miraculously, within three short days, Taeko was able to improve. She was more careful now with her work. There had been a few close calls but no disasters. Fortunately for her, this worked in the bespectacled girl's favor.

Miyabi, with a sigh, officially had the girl hired as their live-in maid and the girl joyously hugged her, much to the older woman's surprise. Tina wanted to have a drinking party to celebrate.

Meanwhile, Kenshin smiled at the festivities. He knew that giving Taeko a good luck charm would work. Still, there was something about her that was intriguing. Maybe she did have the gift or maybe she didn't but she was definitely spiritually sensitive to a limited sense. He had banked on her innate abilities to trigger the charm's power and it seemed to be working. Of course, positive thinking was just as powerful if one believed it so either way it was a big help for the girl.

Glancing at Kaoru and Aoi, Kenshin was thinking of what his clan would think of the new Ronin. He hadn't gotten any word but then again the elders of his clan took a long time to debate and deliberate. The most likely conclusion was that they had sent a member of the Hoshikage Clan to observe the new Ronin and report to them personally.

The Hoshikage Clan was a clan of ninjas who served the Tsukitaiyo Clan loyally. Kenshin wasn't too clear on the details on how it began but the Hoshikage Clan had served the Tsukitaiyo Clan for generations. It had been that way for centuries now. Where the Tsukitaiyo excelled in the way of the sword and the samurai arts, the Hoshikage were just as skilled in the way of the ninja and their own arts. They could literally be in a room filled with people and no one would notice them unless they wanted to be noticed. If anyone could get the elders the information they wanted, it was the Hoshikages.

Still, only time will tell. He also had to admire Aoi for her courage. She definitely had talent and skill in order to shoot an arrow like she had that night against the Puppet Spirit. Maybe she had some considerable talent in archery despite her…less than stellar beginnings. He would need to see if her talent manifested more in training.

"Wow, Taeko! Your boobs are getting bigger!"

"Tina-sempai, you're drunk! My glasses! Where are my glasses?"

"Stop this improper behavior right now!"

'_Provided we get any room to practice in this growing madhouse,_' Kenshin thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N: And finally we have another update. I know a lot have been waiting for this so thank you for waiting this long.**


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